The human papillomavirus (HPV)-related cancer biology: An overview

•Cancer is an important public health problem globally.•HPV is responsible for 30% of all infectious agent-related cancer.•Oncoproteins (E6 and E7) cooperate to promote carcinogenesis.•Oncoproteins can lead to metabolic deregulation and metastasis.•Novel therapeutic and prophylactic vaccines are mandatory. Despite the novel diagnostic methods and therapies implemented in oncology, the number of patients that succumb by the cancer remains high globally. Currently studies point out that 20–25% of all human malignancies are related to micro-organism infections. Among these cancer-related pathogens, the human papillomavirus (HPV) has a prominent position, since the virus is responsible for about 30% of all infectious agent-related cancers. Thus, an amount of cancers could be avoided by means prophylactic and/or therapeutic measures. However, these measures required a holistic comprehension about HPV-related cancer biology. Based on this, this review aims to summarize the last evidences of HPV on cancer biology (from initiation to metastasis), focus on molecular and biochemical deregulations associated with viral infection, and discuss the viral etiology in different malignancies.