As AdV is a common infection in intrauterine environments (Van den Veyver et al, 1998; Baschat et al, 2003), and expression of the E1A and E1B oncogenes of AdV-5 may transform normal cells into a tumorigenic phenotype (Nevels et al, 2001), this virus could potentially be involved in the initial event promoting leukaemia. This evidence concerns the gene DHTKD1 and infection.