Review
Simian virus 40 in human cancers

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0002-9343(03)00087-1Get rights and content

Abstract

Background

Many studies have reported the presence of simian virus 40 (SV40) deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) or protein in human brain tumors and bone cancers, malignant mesothelioma, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. However, the small samples and lack of control groups in some reports have made it difficult to assess their reliability.

Methods

Studies were included in this analysis if they met the following criteria: original studies of patients with primary brain tumors and bone cancers, malignant mesothelioma, or non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma; the investigation of SV40 was performed on primary cancer specimens; the analysis included a control group; and the same technique was used for cases and controls. Included reports were published from 1975 to 2002.

Results

Thirteen studies fulfilled the criteria for the investigation of primary brain cancers (661 tumors and 482 control samples). Specimens from patients with brain tumors were almost four times more likely to have evidence of SV40 infection than were those from controls (odds ratio [OR] = 3.9; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.6 to 5.8). The association was even stronger for mesothelioma (OR = 17; 95% CI: 10 to 28; based on 15 studies with 528 mesothelioma samples and 468 control samples) and for bone cancer (OR = 25; 95% CI: 6.8 to 88; based on four studies with 303 cancers and 121 control samples). SV40 DNA was also more frequent in samples from patients with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (OR = 5.4; 95% CI: 3.1 to 9.3; based on three studies with 301 cases and 578 control samples) than from controls.

Conclusion

These results establish that SV40 is associated significantly with brain tumors, bone cancers, malignant mesothelioma, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Studies are needed to assess current prevalence of SV40 infections.

Section snippets

Literature search

We used MEDLINE to search the medical literature (through October 2002) for original studies of polyomavirus SV40 and human cancers. We used combinations of key words, including SV40 and cancers, SV40 and brain cancers, SV40 and malignant mesothelioma, SV40 and bone cancers, SV40 and lymphomas, and SV40 and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The computer search was supplemented by consulting the bibliographies from retrieved articles.

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Only full-length, original articles were considered for inclusion.

Results

The search yielded 66 original articles 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82; 22 studies were eliminated because they did not include a control group or included only one control sample 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72,

Discussion

We found a significant excess risk of polyomavirus SV40 associated with human primary brain tumors, malignant mesotheliomas, bone cancers, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, as compared with control samples. These types of human cancers associated with SV40 are the same as those induced by SV40 in animal models. Although the proportion of cancers containing SV40 varied among studies, viral prevalence was always far greater in primary tumors than in control tissues. In addition to the detection of SV40

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    This study was supported in part by the Baylor Center for AIDS Research Core Support Grant AI36211 from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, Maryland. Dr. Vilchez is the recipient of the 2001 Junior Faculty Development Award from GlaxoSmithKline, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the 2002 Translational Research Award from the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, White Plains, New York. The funding sources had no role in study design; the collection, analysis, or interpretation of data; and the preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript.

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