REVIEW article
Front. Oncol.
Sec. Molecular and Cellular Oncology
Volume 15 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fonc.2025.1612605
Merkel Cell Polyomavirus in Lung Carcinogenesis: Evidence and Controversy
Provisionally accepted
- 1Jiangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanchang, China
- 2The Jiangxi Province Key Laboratory for Diagnosis, Treatment and Rehabilitation of Cancer in Chinese Medicine, Cancer Research Center, Jiangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanchang, China
- 3Nanchang Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Nanchang, China
- 4Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan
- 5Jiangxi Province Hospital of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, China
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Lung cancer (LC) has been recognized as the leading cause of cancer mortality on a global scale. Although tobacco smoking is predominantly associated with LC (~85%), approximately 15-25% of lung cancers occur in non-smokers. This suggests that other biological cofactors, such as chronic infection and inflammation, are responsible for lung carcinogenesis. Due to the histological similarities between LC and Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV)-associated Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC), studies have investigated their association, particularly small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the association between MCPyV infection and LC has been controversial due to inconsistent clinical findings in limited number of cases. To our knowledge, MCPyV is generally ubiquitous and maintains lifelong latent infections in immunocompetent individuals. Thus, its association with high-morbidity cancers raised concerns, and controversy about its cellular tropism as well. Further research is needed to elucidate the pathways by which MCPyV participates the development and progression of LC. Moreover, understanding the role of MCPyV in LC may lead to novel therapeutic strategies. In this review, we critically evaluate the available evidence for and against the aetiological association of MCPyV and LC to help understand its aetiological role, which will provide valuable insights for the diagnosis and therapy of LC.
Keywords: lung cancer, Merkel cell polyomavirus, merkel cell carcinoma, cellulartropism, diagnosis, therapeutic strategies
Received: 30 Apr 2025; Accepted: 03 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhou, Lu, Hu, Suzuki and Zhou. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Tetsuro Suzuki, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, 431-3192, Shizuoka, Japan
Changlong Zhou, Jiangxi Province Hospital of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine, Nanchang, 330003, Jiangxi Province, China
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