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SV40-positive brain tumor in scientist with risk of laboratory exposure to the virus

Oncogene volume 23, pages 2231–2235 (2004)Cite this article

Abstract

Simian virus 40 (SV40) is a DNA tumor virus known to induce cancers in laboratory animals. There are numerous reports of the detection of SV40 DNA and/or proteins in human malignancies of the same types as those induced by SV40 in animals, including brain cancers. However, known exposure to the virus has not yet been linked directly to cancer development in a specific individual. Here we describe the detection of SV40 sequences in the meningioma of a laboratory researcher who had a probable direct exposure to SV40 and subsequently developed a tumor positive for viral DNA sequences indistinguishable from those of the laboratory source. This case suggests a link between viral exposure and tumor development.

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Abbreviations

CSF:

cerebral spinal fluid

PCR:

polymerase chain reaction

SV40:

simian virus 40

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported in part by grant CA09197 from the National Cancer Institute. We thank Thomas M Wheeler, David S Baskin, Connie Wong and Regis A Vilchez for helpful advice and assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular Virology and Microbiology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, 77030, TX, USA

    Amy S Arrington & Janet S Butel

  2. Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, 77030, TX, USA

    Mary Shannon Moore

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  1. Amy S Arrington
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Correspondence to Janet S Butel.

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Arrington, A., Moore, M. & Butel, J. SV40-positive brain tumor in scientist with risk of laboratory exposure to the virus. Oncogene 23, 2231–2235 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.onc.1207341

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