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Increasing evidence for a human breast carcinoma virus with geographic differences

  1. Paul H. Levine M.D.1,†,*,
  2. Beatriz G.-T. Pogo Ph.D.2,
  3. Afifa Klouj M.B.A.1,
  4. Stephanie Coronel M.P.H.3,
  5. Karen Woodson Ph.D., M.P.H.4,
  6. Stella M. Melana Ph.D.2,
  7. Nejib Mourali M.D.5,‡,
  8. James F. Holland M.D.2

Article first published online: 12 JUL 2004

DOI: 10.1002/cncr.20436

Issue

Cancer

Cancer

Volume 101, Issue 4, pages 721–726, 15 August 2004

Additional Information

How to Cite

Levine, P. H., Pogo, B. G.-T., Klouj, A., Coronel, S., Woodson, K., Melana, S. M., Mourali, N. and Holland, J. F. (2004), Increasing evidence for a human breast carcinoma virus with geographic differences. Cancer, 101: 721–726. doi: 10.1002/cncr.20436

Author Information

  1. 1

    Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services, Washington, DC

  2. 2

    Department of Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York

  3. 3

    Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska

  4. 4

    Cancer Prevention Studies Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland

  5. 5

    Insitut Salah Azaiz, Tunis, Tunisia

  1. †

    Fax: (202) 994-9940

  2. ‡

    Deceased.

*Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services, 2300 Eye Street, N.W., Ross Hall 118, Washington, DC 20037

  • †

    Fax: (202) 994-9940

  • ‡

    Deceased.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 2 AUG 2004
  2. Article first published online: 12 JUL 2004
  3. Manuscript Accepted: 18 MAY 2004
  4. Manuscript Revised: 10 MAY 2004
  5. Manuscript Received: 23 MAR 2004

Funded by

  • T. J. Martell Foundation for Leukemia, Cancer, and AIDS Research
  • The Faith Lynn Price Memorial Fund
  • The Jane Grinberg Memorial Fund
  • The Myra Shaw Cancer Fund
  • the Ellen Block Memorial Fund

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Keywords:

  • mammary tumor virus;
  • breast carcinoma;
  • epidemiology;
  • wild mice

Abstract

BACKGROUND

An early immunologic study suggesting that a virus similar to the mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) was associated highly with breast carcinoma in Tunisian patients, compared with patients in the United States, led the authors to examine different breast carcinoma populations by using more current molecular techniques.

METHODS

Thirty-nine paraffin blocks were selected for sequencing of the 250-base pair segment of the MMTV from patients with breast carcinoma who were seen and treated at the Institut Salah Azaiz in Tunisia. Fifteen of those blocks were examined under code by a second laboratory, which used a different methodology and was blinded to the results of the first laboratory, and 14 blocks were analyzed successfully.

RESULTS

The comparison of Tunisian patients and patients from other countries clearly showed a significantly higher proportion of tumors with MMTV-like sequences in the Tunisian series of patients. There was complete reproducibility of data between the two laboratories. Using the results from the first laboratory and similar studies from the literature, detection of the MMTV-like env gene sequence showed an important geographic pattern with a significantly higher percentage of positive patients with breast carcinoma in Tunisia (74%) compared with patients with breast carcinoma in the United States (36%), Italy (38%), Australia (42%), Argentina (31%), and Vietnam (0.8%)

CONCLUSIONS

The findings provided increased evidence for a human breast carcinoma virus with geographic differences in prevalence. The geographic differences were compatible with studies of MMTV in wild mice; thus, the data were plausible biologically. Cancer 2004. © 2004 American Cancer Society.

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