(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Could common viruses be behind some cases of cancer?

A new study out of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York suggests they might. Researchers who studied a monkey virus find it can, indeed, lead to potentially cancerous cells.

According to the investigators, doctors have known since the 1890s certain aberrations can lead to the formation of tumors. They also know there are two ways these aberrations form: either abnormal cell division occurs, which can get out of control and lead to cancer, or cells fuse together. Some viruses are known to fuse cells, but scientists have believed they were harmless because the resulting hybrid cells usually die off rather quickly. In this study, however, researchers found hybrid cells with a certain genetic makeup didn't die off, but instead proliferated. These proliferating cells may play a role in cancer development.

The authors write, "Therefore, we argue that viruses can contribute to carcinogenesis by fusing cells."

The findings, they continue, might also send up a red flag when it comes to viruses used for gene therapy, as these are, in some cases, fusogenic viruses.