Study Links Virus To
Aggressive Breast Cancers
July 19, 2004
Naples
A new study finds increasing
evidence a virus may play a role in breast cancer. The study, published July
12, 2004 in the online edition of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the
American Cancer Society, finds nearly three-quarters of a small sample of
Tunisian breast cancer patients showed evidence of a virus similar to one
known to cause breast cancer in mice, twice the rate seen in women in the
United States.
A free abstract of the study will be available via Wiley InterScience
(http://www.interscience.wiley.com/cancer-newsroom) CANCER Newsroom upon
embargo. Viruses play a primary role in the development of several cancers,
such as the human T-cell lymphotropic virus and adult T-cell
leukemia/lymphoma or human herpes virus 8 (HHV8) and Kaposi sarcoma (KS).
Geographic variability has also been noted in these cancer-promoting
viruses. For example, KS and HHV8 are least common in the U.S. and more
common in the Mediterranean and Central African regions.
Existing epidemiological evidence and animal models suggest that a virus may
be involved in the development of certain breast cancers. Previous analyses
of human breast tissue samples found viral sequences from the mouse mammary
tumor virus (MMTV) in a large percentage of breast cancers but not in normal
tissue. MMTV may be spread by a species of house mouse that is extremely
common in North Africa but less so in the U.S. Studies show that some
colonies of these mice are commonly infected with MMTV.
Dr. Paul H. Levine from The George Washington University School of Public
Health and Health Services and his colleagues compared 38 samples of breast
tumors from patients treated in Tunisia with samples from several other
countries.
The authors found that on independent review by two laboratories, a
significantly higher proportion of samples from Tunisia tested positive for
an MMTV-specific genetic sequence compared to samples from North America,
Europe and South America. While 74 percent of Tunisian samples tested
positive, other studies reported only 36 percent positive cases from the
U.S., 38 percent from Italy, 42 percent from Australia, and 31 percent from
Argentina.
Further analysis showed that 89 percent of the MMTV-positive samples were
from clinically and histologically aggressive tumors, including trends
toward shorter disease-free intervals. The authors conclude: “These findings
provide increasing evidence for a human breast cancer virus with geographic
differences in prevalence.”
Article: “Increasing Evidence for a Human Breast Carcinoma Virus with
Geographic Differences,” Paul H. Levine, Beatriz G-T Pogo, Afifa Klouj,
Stephanie Coronel, Karen Woodson, Stella M. Melana, Nejib Mourali, James F.
Holland, CANCER; Published Online: July 12, 2004 (DOI: 10.1002/cncr.20436);
Print Issue Date: August 15, 2004.
David Sampson
Director, Media Relations
American Cancer Society
213 368-8523
[email protected]
Eric Miller
Manager, Media Relations
American Cancer Society
404 417-5839
[email protected]