No Association Between Simian Virus 40 and Diffuse Malignant Mesothelioma of the Pleura in Iranian Patients. A Molecular andEpidemiologic Case Control Study of 60 Patients

Background: Diffuse malignant mesothelioma is increasing in incidence on a worldwidebasis and is linked to exposure to asbestos. Simian virus 40 (SV40), a DNA virus, wasintroduced inadvertently to human populations through contaminated polio vaccine duringthe years 1956-1963. It has been associated with various types of malignancy in animalexperiments. There have been suggestions that SV40 might play a role in the pathogenesis ofdiffuse malignant mesothelioma.Objective: To evaluate the association between SV40 and diffuse malignant mesothelioma inIranian patients.Method: In a case-control study between the years 2007-2008, isolated DNA from 60 paraffinblocks of patients with diffuse malignant mesothelioma and 60 controls was assessed todetect three human polyomaviruses (JCV, BKV and SV40) using three different sets ofprimers by multiplex nested PCR analysis. We related the patients with diffuse malignantmesotheioma to possible sites of exposure to asbestos.Results: None of the diffuse malignant mesotheliomas nor any patient in the control grouphad SV40 genome on polymerase chain reaction (PCR). All of the cases were SV40 Tantigen negative.Conclusion: This study suggests that diffuse malignant mesothelioma is independent of SV40infection in Iran.

کلیدواژه ها:

Mesothelioma malignant ، PCR ، Simian virus 40 ، etiology