Different laboratories had used differing criteria to define and assess the risk of heritable diseases determined by genetic testing, Associate Professor Logan Walker said. (file picture) Photo: Tek Image / Science Photo Library / ABO via AFP
25,000 New Zealanders are diagnosed with cancer every year, and as the population ages, that number is expected to increase.
There are various causes, notably genetic and environmental factors - of course the sun is a big one for us. But there is also another less well known factor, viruses. Viruses are estimated to be responsible for 1 in 5 cancers, with the two biggest culprits being HPV - Human papillomavirus - and Hepatitis B.
Dunedin born and Otago educated Gregory J. Morgan has mapped key breakthroughs in tumour virology over the last century in his book Cancer Virus Hunters: from early experiments with chickens through to the now ubiquitous HPV vaccine. He is an associate professor at the Stevens institute of Technology in New Jersey.
