So there is a bacterium called helicobacter pylori which is involved in causing stomach cancer, and a virus is involved in causing cervical and throat cancers. But these bacteria and viruses don’t cause the cancer, they’re just risk factors. Cancer is caused by mutations in the genes that control how fast a cell grows and divides – the bacteria and viruses I’ve mentioned just increase the risk of mutations, or speed up cell division generally (which increases the rate of random mutations/DNA damage).
Comments