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Reply to: Comment on ‘Molecular evidence of viral DNA in non-small cell lung cancer and non-neoplastic lung’

British Journal of Cancer volume 116, page e6 (2017)Cite this article

Subjects

Sir,

After reviewing the published literature that documented an estimated 20% of newly diagnosed cancer cases worldwide are caused by infectious agents (Sarid and Shou-Jiang, 2011; zur Hausen, 2011), and the numerous studies that suggested a viral link (primarily human papillomavirus (HPV)) to non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC; Klein et al, 2009), we chose to forego the standard narrowly focused PCR technique in favour of a generalised, non-targeted approach to detect microbial DNA/RNA in frozen, archived NSCLC specimens. Therefore, in our discovery study to screen for potential microorganisms in NSCLC (Robinson et al, 2016), we employed the novel Lawrence Livermore Microbial Detection Array (LLMDA) designed to detect all sequenced viral and bacterial families, with appropriate controls that target all vertebrate pathogens, including 1856 viruses, 1398 bacteria, 125 archaea, 48 fungi, and 94 protozoa (Gardner et al, 2010; Victoria et al, 2010; Erlandsson et al, 2011). Microarrays span the middle ground between PCR and sequencing, offering high probe density to detect diverse targets with lower costs and fast turnaround time.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Thoracic Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, 33612-9416, FL, USA

    Lary A Robinson & Scott Antonia

  2. Center for Infection Research in Cancer (CIRC), Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, 33612-9416, FL, USA

    Lary A Robinson & Christine Pierce Campbell

  3. Physical and Life Sciences Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, 94559-9698, CA, USA

    Crystal J Jaing & James B Thissen

  4. Department of Epidemiology, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, 33612-9416, FL, USA

    Christine Pierce Campbell

  5. Department of Pathology, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, 33612-9416, FL, USA

    Anthony Magliocco, Yin Xiong & Genevra Magliocco

Authors
  1. Lary A Robinson
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  2. Crystal J Jaing
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  3. Christine Pierce Campbell
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  4. Anthony Magliocco
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  5. Yin Xiong
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  6. Genevra Magliocco
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  7. James B Thissen
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  8. Scott Antonia
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lary A Robinson.

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The authors declare no conflict of interest

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Robinson, L., Jaing, C., Campbell, C. et al. Reply to: Comment on ‘Molecular evidence of viral DNA in non-small cell lung cancer and non-neoplastic lung’. Br J Cancer 116, e6 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.2016.339

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.2016.339

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