CancerHERVdb

CancerHERVdb consolidates human endogenous retrovirus (HERV) expression data across human cancers to support analysis of HERV roles in oncogenesis.

Key Features:

• Extensive Data Compilation: Aggregates expression data from 196 primary research articles across 25 human cancer categories, covering RNA and protein levels of HERVs in cancers including brain, breast, cervical, colorectal, lung, liver, prostate, skin, leukemias, lymphomas, myelomas, and soft-tissue cancers (heart, thyroid, bone, joint).
• Interactive Visualizations: Provides interactive visualization and filtering of HERV expression data by cancer type, HERV family, or specific HERV genes.
• Cross-Study Comparisons: Consolidates results from multiple studies to enable cross-study comparisons and the identification of multicancer signals.

Scientific Applications:

• Identification of Therapeutic Targets: Supports identification of cancers suitable for HERV-targeting therapies and off-target assessments, including cancers overexpressing HERV elements such as MSRV-Env and HHLA2 relevant to ongoing clinical trials and immune checkpoint discoveries.
• Prognostic and Risk Marker Discovery: Enables discovery of prognostic markers and risk factors associated with HERV activation across cancer types.
• Understanding Oncogenic Mechanisms: Facilitates studies on the involvement of HERVs in cancer pathways and mechanisms of oncogenesis.
• Biomarker and Immune Target Discovery: Aids identification of oncogenic drivers, tumor-specific targets, multicancer signals, and immune therapy targets derived from HERV expression patterns.

Methodology:

Articles were identified from PubMed, prescreened, and categorized using the portable document format (PDF) data extractor (PDE) R package.