The findings of a recent study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology indicate that the Simian Virus 40 (SV40) is not linked to an increase in human cancers. Previously, the presence of SV40 had been detected in some cancerous tumor tissues, suggesting a link between SV40 and the development of certain cancers. Among the cancers believed caused by SV40 were brain tumors, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and mesothelioma, which is generally caused by exposure to asbestos.
SV40 accidentally contaminated a variety of vaccines cultured in monkey kidney tissues in the 1950s and early 1960s. Among the vaccines tainted was one designed to prevent respiratory problems that was administered to several hundred thousand US Army recruits.
The authors of the study compared veterans who entered service between 1959 and 1961. The veterans suffering from the implicated cancers were compared to a control group of veterans with cancers that lacked the apparent link to SV40. The results revealed no increased risk for the previously linked cancers, although the study authors did encourage additional research.
Further Information
- Case-Control Study of Cancer among US Army Veterans Exposed to Simian Virus 40-contaminated Adenovirus Vaccine
- Dana E. M. Rollison, William F. Page, Harriet Crawford, Gloria Gridley, Sholom Wacholder, Jennifer Martin, Richard Miller, and Eric A. Engels
Am. J. Epidemiol. 2004 160: 317-324. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]