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Breast Cancer (Expert Forum)
Polio Vaccine
Questions posted in the Breast Cancer Forum are answered by medical professionals from The Cleveland Clinic. Topics include Breast Biopsy, Chemotherapy, Hormone Therapy, Lumps, Lumpectomy, Lymph node dissection, Lymphedema, Mammograms, Mastectomy, Radiation Therapy, Reconstruction, Self Breast Exam, and Surgery.
Polio Vaccine
by Dolores51946, Apr 20, 2001 12:00AM
On March 29th, CBS News presented an interview with Dr. Michel Carbone of Loyola Univ. Med. Ctr. in which he claimed he found a link between the polio vaccine of the 1950's and current cancer.
I also read an article about this, a few years ago, in which breast cancer was specified. Does anyone know where I can get more information on this ?
I also read an article about this, a few years ago, in which breast cancer was specified. Does anyone know where I can get more information on this ?
Doctor's Answer
by CCF-RN,MSN-JS, Apr 24, 2001 12:00AM
Dear Delores, Most likely the information discussed was regarding a particular batch of polio vaccine given in Sweden, which was later found to contain a virus called Simian Virus 40 (SV 40). Various epidemiological studies have been done since the time of this occurrence (1950’s) to see if in fact there were increased incidences of cancer in those given the vaccine and also their offspring. One such study titled “Long-term follow-up of persons inadvertently inoculated with SV40 as neonates” by Mortimer E.A., et al. from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, was reported in the New England Journal of Medicine 305(25) pages 1517-1518 in 1981. Prior to this article and in the 20 years after there have been other references to SV 40 and the questionable cancer link in different medical journals. Of the various abstracts to the studies from a quick Medline search I did not find any that mention an increased incidence of breast cancer in relation to polio vaccine.
Other than Internet searches my other suggestion would be checking with CBS for a transcript of the interview or perhaps an article by Dr. Carbone that goes into more detail regarding his findings. Sometimes news reports give only a piece of the whole story, which is aimed at catching the viewers interest. However, with further investigation into the details what was reported vs. what the actual research showed could be very different.
Other than Internet searches my other suggestion would be checking with CBS for a transcript of the interview or perhaps an article by Dr. Carbone that goes into more detail regarding his findings. Sometimes news reports give only a piece of the whole story, which is aimed at catching the viewers interest. However, with further investigation into the details what was reported vs. what the actual research showed could be very different.
