title: Review of prevalence of Simian Virus 40 (SV40) genomic infection in healthy subjects.
abstract: Because of the carcinogenicity of SV40 in rodents, and its possible distribution through the polio vaccine, many studies have been conducted to determine if there is an association between SV40 genomic infection and different types of cancer; sometimes, these studies included data on the prevalence of genomic infection in healthy subjects as secondary information. We reviewed all the studies that reported the prevalence of SV40 genomic infection in healthy subjects, tested by PCR based methods. The 20 articles considered here included 1103 samples from healthy subjects, with a prevalence of infection ranging from 0 to 25.6%, with high heterogeneity, and no association with the type of sample analyzed (Mantel-Haenszel OR: 0.74; 95% CI: 0.44-1.23). The wide variation in frequency pose problems in terms of study design; in fact, the representativeness of the samples used as controls in the published studies may be very limited. Larger studies on healthy subjects, tested for SV40 genomic infection at various genomic regions, conducted in different geographic areas, are needed.
authors.affiliation: Fondazione Policlinico IRCCS, Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Paracchini
authors.forename: Seymour
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Garte
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pedotti
authors.forename: Emanuela
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Taioli
mesh_terms: D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D016679:Genome, Viral; D006801:Humans; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D027601:Polyomavirus Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D013539:Simian virus 40 / Q000235:genetics*; D014412:Tumor Virus Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral