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SV40 virus was often a contaminant of polio vaccine derived from infected rhesus monkey kidney cells.
Mesothelioma’s Possible Connection to the Monkey Virus SV40
SV40 Connections with:
A virus known to infect monkeys, simian virus 40 (SV40) has also been connected with human mesothelioma, bone tumors and brain tumors (Am J Med. 2003 Jun 1; 114(8): 675–84). From the mid–1950s through the early 1960s, the virus was often a contaminant of polio vaccine, which was derived from infected rhesus monkey kidney cells. The United States government began an SV40 screening program in 1961 to ensure that new lots of vaccine did not contain the virus. However, because of earlier contamination, the National Cancer Institute estimates that 10 million to 30 million people were exposed to SV40, generally from 1955 through 1962 (see Simian Virus 40 and Human Cancer, National Cancer Institute).
Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, reviewed 15 studies that looked at 528 mesothelioma samples and 468 control samples. They found a significant association between SV40 and malignant mesothelioma (Am J Med. 2003 Jun 1; 114(8): 675–84). However, epidemiologists (those who study patterns of disease in humans) found no correlation between SV40 exposure and mesothelioma or other cancers among a population in Denmark (J Natl Cancer Inst. 2003 Apr 2;95(7):532–9).
One study indicates that SV40 and asbestos may be co–carcinogens in causing mesothelioma (Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2000 Aug 29; 97(18): 10214–9). Preliminary evidence indicates that the virus and asbestos fibers work together to transform healthy cells into malignant ones. Another study suggests that SV40 may contribute to the development of those human mesotheliomas that occur in people not exposed to asbestos (J Cell Physiol. 1999 Aug; 180(2): 167–72).
The U.S. Institute of Medicine (IOM) has concluded that the scientific evidence is inadequate to prove or disprove that exposure to poliovirus vaccine with SV40 caused cancer in humans. Citing the biological evidence that SV40–contamination of polio vaccines could contribute to human cancers, the IOM recommends “continued public health attention in the form of policy analysis, communication, and targeted biological research.”
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