In 2014, the International Agency for Research on Cancer judged Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV) to be a probable human carcinogen. BK polyomavirus (BKPyV, a distant cousin of MCPyV) was ruled a possible carcinogen. In this review, we argue that it has recently become reasonable to view both of these viruses as known human carcinogens. In particular, several complementary lines of evidence support a causal role for BKPyV in the development of bladder carcinomas affecting organ transplant patients. The expansion of inexpensive deep sequencing has opened new approaches to investigating the important question of whether BKPyV causes urinary tract cancers in the general population.

2014年，国际癌症研究机构判定默克尔细胞多瘤病毒（MCPyV）为可能的人类致癌物。BK 多瘤病毒（BKPyV，MCPyV 的远亲）被判定为可能的致癌物。在这篇综述中，我们认为最近将这两种病毒视为已知的人类致癌物已变得合理。特别是，一些补充证据支持 BKPyV 在影响器官移植患者的膀胱癌的发展中具有因果作用。廉价深度测序的扩展为研究 BKPyV 是否会导致普通人群泌尿道癌症这一重要问题开辟了新的方法。