CancerHERVdb: Human Endogenous Retrovirus (HERV) Expression Database for Human Cancer Accelerates Studies of the Retrovirome and Predictions for HERV-Based Therapies
Erik Stricker, Erin C. Peckham‐Gregory, Michael E. Scheurer
Abstract
Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs), which in the past have inserted themselves in various regions of the human genome, are to various degrees activated in virtually every cancer type. While a centralized naming system and resources summarizing HERV levels in cancers are lacking, the CancerHERVdb database provides a consolidated resource for cross-study comparisons, data exploration, and targeted searches of HERV activation. The user can access data extracted from hundreds of articles spanning 25 human cancer categories. Therefore, the CancerHERVdb database can aid in the identification of prognostic and risk markers, drivers of cancer, tumor-specific targets, multicancer spanning signals, and targets for immune therapies. Consequently, the CancerHERVdb database is of direct relevance for clinical as well as basic research.