Viruses might offer new help in treating cancer

An unmasking technique called “viral mimicry” is attracting attention from the pharmaceutical industry for its ability to undermine one of cancer’s key survival tactics: disguising itself as healthy tissue. Last year, two studies describing the concept were published in journal Cell by groups from Johns Hopkins University and the Ontario Cancer Institute. The research suggests that hidden viral DNA, which has been incorporated over time into the human genome, can help fight cancer by triggering an alert to the immune system.