Viral causes of cancer: 

Craig McCormick studies how a virus triggers Kaposi’s sarcoma

Scientists are finding more links between viruses and cancer every day. “Right now, we know that about 15 per cent of all cancers are caused by viruses,” says Dr. Craig McCormick, a cancer researcher at Dalhousie Medical School. “These include human papilloma virus, which leads to cervical cancer, and the hepatitis B and hepatitis C viruses, which can cause liver cancer.”

Dr. McCormick is studying how a recently discovered herpes virus – human herpesvirus-8 – triggers Kaposi’s sarcoma, a form of skin cancer. Although Kaposi’s sarcoma can usually be cured, it is deadly when it strikes people with weakened immune systems – such as those who are battling AIDS. The cancer is taking a terrible toll in Africa, where it was common even before the AIDS epidemic.

In addition to studying how Kaposi’s sarcoma develops in AIDS, Dr. McCormick is looking at the changes that take place when a cell is infected with human herpesvirus-8. “I’m trying to pinpoint the event that starts the cancer process and trace the subsequent molecular steps as cancer develops,” he explains. “This knowledge will help us understand the origins of cancer, and may ultimately lead to effective new therapies.”

Dr. McCormick joined Dalhousie’s Department of Microbiology & Immunology as assistant professor in 2006, after completing postdoctoral training at the University of California, San Francisco. The Dalhousie Medical Research Foundation provided crucial start-up funding to help him renovate and equip his lab – through the Dalhousie Cancer Research Program and the exceptionally generous contribution of $56,000 from a DMRF donor, Margot Spafford of Halifax.

“The community here has been incredibly welcoming and supportive,” he says. “I’m very pleased to be part of Dalhousie’s growing cancer research community.”