Quantification of human polyomaviruses MCPyV and HPyV6 in malignant and non-malignant skin lesions

Role of the Microbiota in Skin Neoplasms: New Therapeutic Horizons

“…Furthermore, MCPyV has also been detected in other neoplasms affecting the oral cavity and the gastrointestinal system, in lung, renal, prostate, and cervical cancer, as well as in skin samples collected from healthy individuals [123]. Regarding soft tissue neoplasms, some studies have reported the presence of MCPyV in different NMSCs, the majority represented by SCCs affecting immunosuppressed patients, but also in AK, atypical fibroxantoma, keratoacanthoma, Kaposi's sarcoma, porocarcinoma, and dermatofibrosarcoma, despite the relatively low viral load and the lack of viral integration into the host genome having raised the question as to its possible coincidental rather than causal role in the genesis of such cancers [124][125][126]. Accordingly, serological evaluation was found to be positive in a high number of healthy subjects starting from infancy (45%) towards adulthood (60% to 81% depending on the considered age category), despite a higher antibody seroprevalence in MCC patients versus healthy controls (90.0% and 67.6%, respectively), thus suggesting that MCPyV belongs to the skin microbiota, and its role in promoting MCC needs to be further studied [127].…”