New molecular and epidemiological issues in mesothelioma: role of SV40

Our plain-English summary of New molecular and epidemiological issues in mesothelioma: role of SV40, by M. Carbone, S. Fisher, A. Powers, et al (Journal of Cellular Physiology, 1999).

The study

• Authors: M. Carbone, S. Fisher, A. Powers, H.I. Pass, P. Rizzo
• Journal: Journal of Cellular Physiology
• Published: 1999;180(2):167-72
• Type of article: Review
• Cited by: 76 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Mesotheliomas are malignant tumors usually associated with occupational asbestos exposure. Simian virus 40 (SV40) is a DNA tumor virus that preferentially causes mesotheliomas when injected intracardially and/or intrapleurally into hamsters. SV40 also transforms human cells in tissue culture, and these cells contain extensive DNA damage. In the United States, at least 60% of human mesotheliomas contain and express SV40. In these tumor cells, the SV40 tumor antigen binds and inhibits the cellular tumor suppressors p53 and Rb. These findings suggest that SV40 may contribute to the development of those human mesotheliomas that occur in people not exposed to asbestos. SV40 may also facilitate asbestos-mediated carcinogenicity. The epidemiological data available are insufficient to address the role that SV40 may have played in contributing to the increased incidence of mesothelioma in the second half of this century.

In plain English

This article was a review of earlier research that also included a small database search by the authors. The authors summarized research on simian virus 40 (SV40), which contaminated poliovaccines and adenovaccines given in 1955–1963, and its possible role in mesothelioma. One reviewed study, from the same laboratory, found that 29 of 48 (60%) human mesotheliomas contained and expressed SV40-like sequences. They searched a US cancer database (SEER) for three birth groups that a 1998 study by Strickler et al. had compared. They found 2 mesothelioma cases in the group born 1964–1969, which was treated as unexposed. They found 45 cases in the group born 1947–1952 (exposed as children) and 23 in the group born 1956–1962 (exposed as infants). They said this difference could be related to SV40 or to the older ages of the exposed groups, and that it was difficult to draw conclusions. They suggested that SV40 and asbestos might act together. The authors concluded that it would be premature to reach definitive conclusions about SV40's role in mesothelioma in the general population.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Narrative review of laboratory and epidemiological research on SV40 and mesothelioma, including a brief search of the SEER cancer database by the authors
• Who was studied: Studies reviewed by the authors. For the SEER search: three US birth groups compared by Strickler et al. (1998): born 1947–1952 (exposed as children), born 1956–1962 (exposed as infants) and born 1964–1969 (treated as unexposed)
• Exposure: SV40 introduced into people through contaminated poliovaccines and adenovaccines between 1955 and 1963; asbestos exposure was discussed as a possible co-factor
• Main results:
  • In an earlier study from the authors' laboratory (Carbone et al., 1994), 29 of 48 (60%) human mesotheliomas contained and expressed SV40-like sequences
  • In the authors' SEER search, complete tumor records covered different age ranges for each group: ages 26–41 for the 1947–1952 group, ages 17–31 for the 1956–1962 group, and ages 9–24 for the 1964–1969 group
  • The authors' SEER search found 2 mesothelioma cases in the unexposed group (born 1964–1969), compared with 45 in the group exposed as children and 23 in the group exposed as infants
  • The authors said the higher number of mesotheliomas in the vaccinated groups could be related to SV40 or to the fact that these groups included older people
  • The authors stated that the available SEER data indicated that SV40 exposure through the contaminated poliovaccines was unlikely to have caused cancer directly in a substantial number of individuals
  • The authors put forward the idea that SV40-positive people might be at higher risk of mesothelioma when exposed to asbestos, if SV40 and asbestos act together as cocarcinogens
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that, without further experimental information, it would be premature to make definitive conclusions about the possible role of SV40 in mesothelioma in the general population, and that great caution should be used before concluding that SV40 causes mesothelioma
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The authors said it was difficult to draw conclusions from the SEER mesothelioma counts
  • The groups compared were of very different ages, so the authors said statistical comparisons between them may be misleading
  • The authors argued that treating people born after 1963 as unexposed to SV40 is incorrect, because SV40 may have other sources of infection

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Mesothelioma.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Mesothelioma, SV40, Asbestos Exposure.

Related studies

• Human mesotheliomas contain the simian virus-40 regulatory region and large tumor antigen DNA sequences — H.I. Pass, J.S. Donington, et al. (1998)
• Simian virus 40 is present in most United States human mesotheliomas, but it is rarely present in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma — P. Rizzo, M. Carbone, et al. (1999)
• SV40 and the pathogenesis of mesothelioma — P. Rizzo, M. Bocchetta, et al. (2001)
• Prospects for an SV40 vaccine — M.J. Imperiale, H.I. Pass, et al. (2001)
• Association of SV40 with human tumours — B. Jasani, A. Cristaudo, et al. (2001)
• Asbestos, Simian virus 40 and malignant mesothelioma — S.C. Stenton (1997)

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