Frontiers in Bioscience-Landmark (FBL) is published by IMR Press from Volume 26 Issue 5 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Frontiers in Bioscience.
Polyomaviruses are small DNA viruses that typically establish persistent but inapparent infections of their natural hosts, although cytolytic disease may develop if the host becomes immunocompromised. Most polyomaviruses have the ability to induce tumor formation when introduced into certain foreign hosts and are considered oncoviruses. Some polyomaviruses, including those that infect humans, have occasionally been detected in cancerous tissue of their natural hosts. This article briefly reviews the biology of polyomaviruses and explores issues pertaining to the significance of association of polyomaviruses with human tumors.