Advancing our Understanding of Gastrointestinal Diseases

June 27, 2022

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June 26, 2022

Yale Cancer Center

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00:00Funding for Yale Cancer Answers is
00:02provided by Smilow Cancer Hospital.
00:06Welcome to Yale Cancer Answers with
00:08your host doctor in Anees Chagpar.
00:11Yale Cancer Answers features the
00:13latest information on cancer care by
00:15welcoming oncologists and specialists
00:16who are on the forefront of the
00:19battle to fight cancer. This week,
00:21it's a conversation about using
00:22chemical tools to detect cancer
00:24causing proteins with doctor
00:26Stavroula Hatzios.
00:27Dr Hatzios is assistant
00:29professor of molecular,
00:30cellular and developmental
00:31biology and of chemistry at the
00:33Yale School of Medicine where
00:35Doctor Chagpar is a professor of
00:37Surgical oncology.
00:40Maybe we can start off
00:42by you telling us a little bit more
00:44about yourself and what it is you do.
00:47My background is in chemistry
00:49and microbiology so not a
00:51traditional cancer biologist,
00:53but I use chemical tools to better
00:56understand infectious diseases and
00:58more specifically how microbes can
01:01contribute to cancer in humans.
01:03So in my training I started out by
01:06researching infectious diseases,
01:08particularly airborne pathogens.
01:10Like Mycobacterium tuberculosis
01:12that causes human tuberculosis,
01:15but then as a postdoc,
01:16I switched to studying
01:18gastrointestinal pathogens,
01:19principally vibrio cholera,
01:20which is the bacterium that causes
01:22the diarrheal disease cholera.
01:24And it was through my postdoctoral
01:26training that I began to engage in
01:28conversations with other scientists
01:30who recommended that I start applying
01:32some of the chemical tools and
01:34approaches that I was a developing
01:36to study comparatively understudied
01:38microbes like Helicobacter pylori.
01:40And that was really my entry point into
01:43the field of cancer microbiology and
01:45cancer microbiology really refers to
01:47an area of research that's emerging
01:49where we're looking at how microbes
01:52that indigenous microbes in our bodies.
01:54Which comprise the microbiome,
01:56as well as infectious microbes that
01:59cause disease might contribute to the
02:01development of cancer in humans or
02:04alter outcomes of cancer therapies.
02:06So I begin researching Helicobacter
02:08pylori a little bit as a postdoc,
02:09and that's really been the focal
02:11point of my labs work.
02:12Trying to understand how this very
02:15important gastric or stomach pathogen
02:17causes cancer in a subset of infected humans,
02:21and what are the pathways the
02:23molecular events by which cancer.
02:25Develops and we use a lot of
02:27chemical approaches to sort of
02:28understand what those pathways are.
02:31Yeah, so I was going to ask
02:33something along the same vein.
02:35Many people, when they think
02:37about Helicobacter pylori or H.
02:39Pylori, as it's sometimes
02:41known we think about ulcers.
02:43We don't really think about cancer.
02:45So can you talk a little bit
02:47more about the link between H.
02:49Pylori and cancer and how how
02:51you got started with that?
02:54Absolutely yeah, H.
02:56Pylori is a fascinating,
02:58fascinating microbe.
02:59As you mentioned,
03:00it is primarily linked,
03:02at least in public knowledge,
03:04to peptic ulcers, stomach inflammation.
03:07But it's also the leading risk
03:10factor for gastric cancer,
03:11which I think currently remains
03:13the third leading cause of cancer
03:16related deaths worldwide.
03:18This is a microbe that's found
03:20in half of the global population,
03:22and for most people it it doesn't
03:25lead to cancer.
03:27It may actually be innocuous,
03:29meaning it may not do too
03:30much to the infected host,
03:32but a subset of those who carry the
03:34microbe as a normal part of their
03:37stomach microbiome will develop peptic
03:39ulcers and gastric inflammation,
03:41called gastritis.
03:42That's roughly 10 to 15%
03:44of people who have H.
03:46Pylori and then a much smaller percentage.
03:481 to 3% typically go on to develop
03:51gastric cancer and this connection
03:52was only made a couple of decades ago
03:55by Robin Warren and Barry Marshall,
03:58who won the Nobel Prize in medicine in
04:002005 for this discovery that this microbe.
04:03Can cause peptic ulcers,
04:05gastric inflammation and ultimately
04:07cancer and in fact due to their work, H.
04:11Pylori is now the first,
04:13formally characterized or classified
04:15microbe known to be a human carcinogen.
04:19So in individuals who have H.
04:21Pylori,
04:22the microbe can cause chronic
04:26inflammation of the gastric lining
04:28and overtime and some hosts.
04:29This can develop into gastric cancer.
04:33And what's a major challenge for
04:35those of us in the field is trying
04:37to understand why it is that some
04:39individuals develop cancer and others do not.
04:42And that's a really important question.
04:44The reason it's so important is
04:46that typically if someone has H.
04:48Pylori.
04:48You can administer antibiotics
04:50to get rid of microbe,
04:53but these microbes have a
04:54way of evolving very,
04:55very rapidly and thus they
04:58they evolve drug resistance,
05:00which limits the number of drugs
05:01that we have available to treat them.
05:03So if you just administer in
05:04a biotics to half the global
05:06population to rid them of H.
05:08Pylori,
05:08that may not be the best approach
05:10because you'll fuel the rise
05:12of antibiotic resistance.
05:13And there's also some emerging
05:15thought that H.
05:16Pylori may actually be beneficial to
05:18some portion of the population since.
05:20People carry this microbe,
05:21usually from childhood,
05:22and it can help train the immune
05:25system similarly to how we think
05:26of other microbes that are found
05:28in our microbiome.
05:29So trying to understand whom should
05:32be treated with antibiotics and
05:34when who is at risk of developing
05:36cancer down the line.
05:37That's a very important question,
05:39and that's some of what our work
05:40is focused on understanding.
05:43So tell us more about that because
05:45that that clearly is fascinating
05:46when you think about you know so
05:48much of the world's population.
05:50Have this this bacteria you know
05:53a reasonable proportion of them.
05:56Get gastritis and ulcers and are
05:58typically treated with as you say,
06:01antibiotics and acid reducing medications.
06:06But there is this subset
06:07who go on to get cancer.
06:08So what do we know about that population
06:11and why it is that they are more
06:15susceptible to developing malignancy?
06:18Great question I. I think we don't fully
06:20know and that's something that a lot
06:23of research in the field is focused on.
06:25We have some indications as a field as to
06:28what might be increasing the risk among
06:31certain individuals and those can range
06:34from geography to diet to genetic background,
06:37but there are challenges also in
06:38making some of those associations.
06:40So certainly there are certain parts
06:42of the world in which the incidence of
06:45H pylori associated gastric cancer.
06:48Is higher particular parts of South America?
06:51For example, there have been studies linking
06:54altitude to the risk of developing H.
06:57Pylori associated gastric cancer,
06:59as well as the amount of salt in
07:01the diet as well as iron levels.
07:03So various environmental factors
07:04are thought to increase risk and
07:07certainly genetic predisposition
07:08in some cases may play a role,
07:10although we don't fully understand
07:12what those factors may be.
07:14A challenge there is that the
07:16microbe is found in such a large
07:18portion of the population.
07:20That it can be difficult to identify
07:22key factors that really predispose
07:24subset to the development of cancer
07:26risk and on the microbial side,
07:28which I haven't really mentioned thus far.
07:31The Microbit itself has a very complex
07:33evolutionary history which in and
07:35of itself is super fascinating.
07:37It's thought to have Co evolved with humans
07:40since several thousands of years ago,
07:43over 60,000 years.
07:44It's been with humans and thus the phylogeny.
07:47Basically the evolutionary history.
07:48How this microbe has evolved.
07:50Can be used to trace migratory
07:52patterns of the human, the human race,
07:55and it's really thought that the
07:58microbe evolves quite rapidly as well.
08:00Once it's in a specific human host
08:03and thus it can be very difficult
08:05to assign specific microbial genetic
08:08patterns with cancer risk.
08:09Although there are,
08:10I should note,
08:11some important proteins and genes
08:14that the microbe carries which
08:16do correlate very strongly with
08:17cancer risk in some individuals.
08:20So, so how do we kind of move that forward?
08:26I mean when we think about people who
08:29you know present to their doctor with
08:32stomach pain and and ulcers and gastritis,
08:35they generally speaking will have
08:37an endoscopy and a a small biopsy
08:40will be taken and sent to the lab
08:42and the lab will confirm that.
08:44Yes indeed they have H pylori.
08:47Is it, you know,
08:49given what you just mentioned,
08:51is it possible for that lab instead
08:53of just saying yes, you have H.
08:56Pylori to look at the particular
08:58features of of that particular H.
09:01Pylori and say well,
09:03this particular brand of H.
09:05Pylori has an increased risk of you
09:09developing gastric cancer versus
09:12another brand of the same bacteria.
09:17Yes,
09:18I do think that that's possible.
09:20It is possible to culture the
09:23microbes from from human samples
09:25and assess at a genetic level
09:28if the microbe contains these.
09:30These risk factors,
09:31and I think that's one possible approach.
09:34Practically speaking,
09:34it may be a bit challenging,
09:36but as we have more advances with
09:38regards to genome sequencing and
09:40PCR based methods that can help us
09:43identify these factors quickly,
09:45I think that's one approach.
09:46I think what is maybe more important
09:49as we move forward in the field is
09:52trying to identify early risk factors
09:55because maybe one thing I haven't
09:57mentioned is that gastric cancer
09:59tends to present quite later in life,
10:01so with with regards to H.
10:03Pylori infection.
10:04As I mentioned,
10:05children usually are infected with
10:07the microbe when they're very young.
10:09Typically we believe through
10:10household contacts with other family
10:12members who have the microbe.
10:14And it's not until decades later that
10:16someone would present with gastric cancer.
10:19So this very there's this very
10:20long lag phase from, you know,
10:22the infection in childhood to the
10:24development of gastric cancer.
10:26And once it's diagnosed,
10:27it can be pretty late stage.
10:30So that's also challenging in
10:32terms of treatment.
10:33And so I think what's needed
10:35are ways to assess much earlier.
10:37Whether or not someone is at
10:39risk and one way,
10:40as you mentioned,
10:40could be looking at the microbe
10:42and then others.
10:43Others may be trying to identify.
10:45Host factors that may be indicative
10:48of of infections that may be heading
10:51down the road towards cancer,
10:52and that's what I think a lot of
10:54research in this area is focused on,
10:56including the work of my own lab,
10:57is trying to identify effects that
11:00microbes may have on the host
11:02that could be translated into new
11:04diagnostic tests and indications
11:06of early cancer risk.
11:08So, so tell us more about that in terms
11:11of the work that's going on in your lab,
11:14sure, so. What we're trying to do is
11:17excuse me, is trying to understand.
11:20How infection alters proteins in cells
11:23that are found in the stomach in a in a
11:26manner that may promote tumor growth.
11:28So how is it that the microbe
11:31interfaces with human proteins?
11:33How do they alter?
11:34How do those interactions alter the
11:36proteins behavior in a manner that could
11:39promote the development of cancer,
11:41so to break it down a bit when
11:43when you have an infection,
11:45your body's immune system will
11:46respond to try to clear the infection
11:48and that that generally involves
11:50the recruitment of immune cells.
11:52And these immune cells will produce
11:53a lot of oxidants or free radicals.
11:56These are small molecules that
11:58are very reactive.
11:59They contain a lot of oxygen.
12:00They're starved for electrons,
12:02so they react very readily with
12:04other molecules in your cells,
12:05and they can cause damage to cells.
12:07Because of this intrinsic
12:09chemical reactivity.
12:10And one of the major classes of
12:13biomolecules that can get damaged by
12:15these oxidants or proteins and proteins
12:17are super important because they
12:19do a lot of chemistry in ourselves.
12:21They they generate energy,
12:22they help cells grow.
12:24They help them divide.
12:25They provide structure to cells.
12:26They help mediate interactions between cells,
12:29and these are all very important processes
12:31that if they become dysregulated,
12:34so if they're interrupted or inhibited,
12:36messed with in some way,
12:37they could lead to the development of cancer.
12:41And So what we're trying to understand
12:43is when you have an infection and
12:45all of these oxidants are produced
12:48by the immune system,
12:49some of those oxidants will damage proteins.
12:52And when those proteins get damaged,
12:54do they alter some of these processes
12:57that could encourage cancer to form?
12:59If that's the case in our data points,
13:01to indicates that that is.
13:04Then can we identify you?
13:06Some of these proteins as new
13:08diagnostic markers of cancer risk?
13:09So if these proteins are getting
13:11damaged early on,
13:12can we use them as indicators that
13:14cancer may be maybe more likely
13:16down the line?
13:17Yeah, so I was just about to say, I mean,
13:19that sounds like just fascinating
13:21work and and I'd really like to
13:24dig a little deeper into into that.
13:26But first we have to take a
13:27short break for a medical minute.
13:29So please stay tuned to learn more
13:32information about research and to
13:34detecting cancer causing proteins
13:35with my guest doctor Stavroula Hatzios.
13:38Funding for Yale Cancer Answers
13:41comes from Smilow Cancer Hospital
13:43hosting a Smilow shares cancer
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14:50yalecancercenter.org you're listening
14:52to Connecticut Public Radio.
14:54Welcome back to Yale Cancer Answers.
14:57I'm doctor Anees Chagpar and I'm joined
14:59tonight by my guest doctor Stavroula Hatzios.
15:02We're discussing some of her recent
15:04research and right before the break
15:06she was starting to tell us about H.
15:08Pylori. Now, for those of
15:09you who are just joining us,
15:11you know each pylori.
15:13It's that bacteria that sits in your
15:15stomach and that causes ulcers and gastritis.
15:18And things like that.
15:19And we never really think about it
15:22necessarily as being associated with cancer.
15:25However, Savula tells us that it's actually
15:28a leading cause of gastric cancer and
15:31the mechanism for that is something that
15:34she and her lab is working on discovering
15:38because not everybody who has H.
15:40Pylori gets gastric cancer.
15:42Thank goodness, but some people do.
15:45And so stavroula right before the
15:47break you were telling us that one
15:49of the potential mechanisms of this,
15:51if I understood correctly,
15:53is that with this.
15:55Infection with this H pylori your
15:58immune system starts to kind of
16:02act on that infection.
16:03It it kind of gets geared up as it
16:06would to any infection and starts
16:08manipulating some proteins and that those
16:11proteins might actually signal cancer.
16:13Is that right?
16:16Yes, that's what we believe
16:17and what we're investigating,
16:18and so we think that a lot of the
16:21inflammation that occurs during H.
16:23Pylori infection, which is accompanied
16:26by the production of oxidants.
16:28Those small molecules
16:29that are highly reactive,
16:31leads to changes in your cells, the proteins,
16:34the DNA that helps nucleate cancer formation,
16:37and as you mentioned,
16:39we're focusing on the proteins.
16:40How do those change in a way
16:42that may promote tumor growth?
16:44Our lab is using.
16:46Some advanced chemical tools that
16:48allow us to identify specific
16:51proteins and human gastric cells
16:53that get damaged or modified by
16:56these oxidants produced during H.
16:58Pylori infection,
16:59so we can basically canvas the whole
17:01cell with these chemical tools and
17:03say what proteins are you getting
17:06modified by these oxidants and then
17:08independently look at these proteins
17:10using biochemistry and some biology.
17:12Other very interesting
17:14tools in our toolkit to ask.
17:16What happens when these proteins are
17:18modified that may promote tumor growth,
17:20and for that we use a number
17:22of different model systems,
17:24both in the lab and using a number
17:26of other different systems to look
17:28at tumor growth as a result of
17:30these modifications to the proteins,
17:32the long term goal here is to
17:35identify modified proteins that
17:36could be used to diagnose cancer
17:38risk much earlier in an infection.
17:41So you might imagine,
17:42as you mentioned previously,
17:43if someone presents at a clinic with an H.
17:46Pylori infection,
17:46maybe there could be a biopsy taken
17:49where we look specifically for
17:52proteins that we've identified in the lab.
17:55Promote tumor growth and see if
17:57those have been changed in a way
18:00that aligns with that outcome.
18:02And if you can detect those small
18:04molecular changes very early in
18:06an infection that that may help
18:09improve outcomes on the patient side
18:11so that that's an interesting theory
18:14stavroula, but one of the things
18:16that you mentioned before the break,
18:18which is true, is that there is
18:21this lag time right between when
18:23you get an infection when you have.
18:25Gastritis and when you may ultimately
18:27end up with gastric cancer,
18:30are there ways that we can manipulate these
18:34proteins or or reduce risk in some way?
18:38Once we identify these proteins,
18:41right? That is absolutely the goal.
18:44So not only could such proteins
18:46serve as indicators of cancer risk,
18:49but the nice thing about proteins,
18:51and particularly a lot of
18:52the proteins that we study,
18:54is that a lot of them carry enzymatic.
18:56Function so there are enzymes.
18:57That means that they can perform
18:59different chemistry in the cell.
19:00They can perform chemical reactions and
19:02those are proteins that are really nicely
19:05targeted by small molecules by drugs.
19:07And thus if if these proteins
19:10that are involved in the infection
19:12response and down the line,
19:15increasing the risk of tumor
19:16growth can be targeted by drugs,
19:18then you also have the opportunity
19:20to develop new chemotherapeutics
19:22that could help actually treat
19:23cancers that result down the
19:25line from these infections.
19:27So not only are the proteins
19:29important as diagnostic indicators,
19:30but also carry the potential to
19:32be new drug targets for actually
19:34treating the cancer itself.
19:36Wouldn't it be better if we were
19:38able to somehow manipulate these
19:40proteins to prevent cancer?
19:42Is that something that's
19:43being looked at? Yes, I think
19:45we're not quite there yet.
19:47We're still at the early stages
19:49of trying to identify what these
19:51proteins are and how they relate
19:53to the time course of cancer
19:54to the progression to cancer.
19:56From the point of infection.
19:58But yes, I think that there's
20:00very much a possibility to
20:01intervene at a very early stage.
20:03If you do sort of a screen for such
20:07proteins at early points of infection,
20:09perhaps in in an ideal scenario.
20:12In a case of a childhood infection,
20:14for example,
20:14and if you see this sort of indication,
20:17then intervene at that point
20:18with these drugs that I mentioned
20:20might be down the line to kind
20:22of inhibit the activity that
20:23could lead to tumor development.
20:25You know you mentioned that
20:27half the world's population.
20:28Actually carry this Helicobacter pylori in
20:31our stomachs and for the majority of us.
20:33Thank goodness we never have any problems.
20:36There's a subset that get ulcers
20:39and a subset even smaller that
20:41that goes on to get cancer.
20:44And I wonder whether.
20:47The latter subset who get cancer is
20:51a subset who actually get ulcers
20:55versus they can get cancer without
20:59having that intervening gastritis,
21:01inflammation, kind of phase.
21:03In other words,
21:05if I have an asymptomatic infection with H.
21:10Pylori and I just carry this,
21:12but it never really bothers me.
21:14Am I at the same risk of
21:16getting gastric cancer?
21:17As a result of carrying that bug,
21:20as I would be if I not only carried H.
21:23Pylori but that H.
21:25Pylori went on to give me gastritis
21:27and ulcers and so on and so forth.
21:29And then I get gastric cancer.
21:32Do you understand my question?
21:34Yeah, I think so.
21:35And I should note again that I'm not
21:37a clinician, so this is certainly
21:39not my my area of expertise.
21:41But I will say my understanding
21:43is that the latter holds true,
21:44so those individuals who do develop ulcers.
21:47You know, chronic inflammation.
21:49Gastritis are the subset that are at
21:51greater risk for developing cancer
21:53down the line and the the model in
21:55the field is that each pylori induces
21:58infection in some host induces this
22:00chronic inflammation and in some
22:03hosts and some humans who have the.
22:05The microbe overtime that leads to
22:07the development of this inflammation
22:08in the tissue and that process is
22:10what seeds the development of the
22:12cancer decades down the line as well.
22:14So it does correlate strongly
22:16with the incidence of inflammation
22:18and people who have each pylori
22:20and that makes so much sense because
22:22we've seen that in other cancers as well,
22:24where it really is. This inflammation,
22:27the damage to the tissues.
22:29This idea that you get inflammation?
22:32You get fibrosis.
22:34You get free radicals.
22:36You you get, you know, an area of
22:41tissue which is not as well perfused.
22:46That can lead then to
22:49cancers and and so you know,
22:52presumably the tests that you're
22:54developing to look at these these
22:57infections might be something that
22:59very easily could be done at the time
23:02that somebody presents for a biopsy.
23:05Diagnosing the H.
23:06Pylori to begin with when they
23:08they have symptoms of gastritis.
23:11The next question is,
23:13you know if we know that it is the
23:16case that you know these gastric
23:19cancers tend to emerge in an area
23:21of inflammation and we we can kind
23:24of see in your research and that
23:26of others that the the pathway
23:29seems to be these free radicals.
23:31These small molecules and and damage to
23:35proteins and an inflammatory response,
23:38and so on and so forth.
23:40With your chemical toolbox where you're
23:43looking at these altered proteins.
23:46Have you looked at that in
23:48other cancers as well,
23:50and isn't necessarily the case that
23:53these are always related to microbes?
23:57Or is it possible that some inflammation
24:00may be due to other causes,
24:03but that the end pathway,
24:05the end result in terms of the small
24:07molecules and the tissue damage
24:09and the protein damage, et cetera?
24:11With the inflammatory response is the same?
24:16That's a great observation.
24:17And yes, I think it is very likely to
24:20be the case that a lot of these same
24:22protein damage pathways are are shared
24:25or are common amongst other cancers.
24:27We specifically, my lab specifically
24:29has not looked at other non
24:32infection associated cancers,
24:33but other labs have begun looking
24:36at this question and have certainly
24:38done it in other contexts as well,
24:41and I think that there will be an emerging
24:44picture of some proteins that get damaged.
24:47By inflammation and oxidative stress
24:49and variety of contexts and that these
24:53may provide very important clues
24:55for the risk of cancer development,
24:58and I should also mention that one thing
25:00that we haven't touched on is DNA damage,
25:03which is perhaps the more well
25:04known target of these oxidants that
25:06are generated during inflammation.
25:08And that's something that is certainly
25:10very common across many different types
25:13of cancers resulting from infection or not.
25:15Oxidants can damage DNA.
25:17Directly,
25:18and that can lead to mutations and
25:20instability of the genome that ultimately
25:22helps seed cancer formation as well.
25:26Yeah, the the problem with that though,
25:28is that as you mentioned,
25:30the nice thing about proteins is that
25:32potentially you can do something about it.
25:33So are people looking at, you know,
25:36trying to figure out how you can
25:38manipulate the system so that.
25:42You can kind of counteract DNA damage.
25:44My perception is that that's
25:45a little bit more difficult.
25:48I think you're right. Yeah, I'm not.
25:50I'm not familiar with specific work in
25:52that area, and I think it's it's a very
25:55important point that the benefit the
25:57advantage to looking at proteins, which
25:59is still a very emerging area of research,
26:02is that you have the opportunity to
26:04intervene and actually do something about it.
26:06And they also have the added advantage
26:09of being both diagnostic indicators
26:11or providing some some clues.
26:14What might be to come down the line,
26:15but also an opportunity to
26:18intervene through drugs?
26:19Small molecule approaches to
26:21help alter these outcomes?
26:22So I think for us,
26:23that's why there's such an
26:25exciting area of research,
26:26particularly as they relate to microbes.
26:29Yeah, you know, as you were talking about
26:31kind of these pathways and the way that H.
26:34Pylori works in terms of
26:37gastric cancer by you know,
26:39kind of getting the immune system to
26:42respond to it and then creating these.
26:45Small molecules and inflammation and so on.
26:49It. It made me think about other
26:51infections that we know also cause cancer,
26:54but that are not bacterial so we know H.
26:57Pylori is a is a little bacterium
26:59that lives in our stomachs.
27:01But we also know that many other
27:04cancers are caused by viruses.
27:06So thinking about hepatitis, for example,
27:10the pathway seems to be very similar
27:12in terms of you know, creating.
27:14Inflammation and fibrosis and free
27:17radicals and so on and so forth.
27:20Is there a difference in terms
27:23of how bacteria and viruses work
27:26in terms of developing cancer?
27:28And is it possible for your
27:31research to potentially look at
27:33virally mediated cancers as well?
27:37Sure, I think that there are opportunities
27:39to apply similar approaches to viral
27:42infections that are associated with cancer.
27:45And of course a lot of viruses have been
27:48connected to very important malignancies,
27:51HPV, human papilloma virus,
27:53and cervical cancer.
27:54That's perhaps one of the
27:56most well known connections,
27:58but there are several others,
27:59like hepatitis C, Epstein Barr virus,
28:02and the link between viruses and
28:04cancer has been explored for
28:07quite a long time and a lot more is
28:10known about how viruses can engage with
28:13the human cell to to cause cancer.
28:17So some of the pathways may be similar,
28:19but we think that they may also be
28:21very distinct with regards to microbes,
28:22but at the same time,
28:23these approaches I think will be
28:25very valuable for assessing viral
28:27infections and finding common pathways.
28:29Doctor Stavroula Hatzios is an
28:31assistant professor of molecular,
28:33cellular and developmental biology and of
28:35chemistry at the Yale School of Medicine.
28:38If you have questions,
28:40the address is canceranswers@yale.edu
28:42and past editions of the program
28:45are available in audio and written
28:48form at yalecancercenter.org.
28:48We hope you'll join us next week to
28:51learn more about the fight against
28:53cancer here on Connecticut Public Radio.
28:55Funding for Yale Cancer Answers
28:57is provided by Smilow Cancer Hospital.