Is Breast Cancer A Virus?

SabrinaElyse

I have had cancer in my family for years. My grandmother actually had breast cancer and had to have one breast removed. It is very scary for me. I know there are ways to help prevent breast cancer (diet, exercise, regular check ups) but I have been hearing a lot about how Breast Cancer could be a virus? Does this mean there could some day be a cure, or preventative pill or shot? Sort of like Cervaical Cancer?

Feel free to share opions, facts, questions. I am just curious! 

dlb823

Sabrina, what many people don't realize until they have breast cancer and begin to delve deeper into it, is that it's not one disease. In other words, some of it is hormone driven, some is not; some forms of it have increased types of proteins associated with it; some do not.  Recent research out of the UK has identified at least 10 different types of breast cancer.  

On top of that, other recent research shows that there may be more similarities in certain cancers based on their types, rather than where they show up in our bodies, which reconfirms how very different from each other individual breast cancers can be.

As far as the virus theory, I think it's been around a long time, yet I don't believe research has ever proven a virus connection. And I guess it's hard for me personally to believe that if a virus is at the heart of it, we wouldn't be further along in figuring it out. OTOH, what is very virus-like about it is how it can apparently lay dormant within a woman after seemingly successful treatment, and suddenly pop up 5, 10, 15 or even 20 years later.  That sounds very much like a dormant virus.  

Just my random thoughts on it...     Deanna 

SabrinaElyse

Deanna - Thanks so much for your thoughts. I apprecaite you sharing your knowledge with me. How knew there are so many different types - scary! I agree, if it is a virus, we should dedicate some more research to it. I was researching viedos on youtube and stumbled apon this video:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4SCKJ1l27o&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PL4A1238465ADCE447

It was all about it being a virus and it really made me think about it. You should take a look, quick video with some good info that really makes you think. Hopefully soon we will figure it all out

marie5890

Hello Sabrina and welcome to BCO. 

I know that may people want to think there is something quick and easy reason and thus solution to cancer, breast or any other kind.

The human body is far more complicated than that.

The virus that causes 99% of cervical cancer is the HPV virus and is a sexually transimitted disease. Breast cancer, in all of it's forms, is not an STD.  

SabrinaElyse

Thanks Marie for your thought. It is so true - I do wish there was a simple way to fix the issue at hand. I see your point about the STD. I wonder if it could be a virus passed down through generations, caused by vitamin deficiencies or anything else. Either way - I truley help that some people deadicate some time to researching the cause of breast cancer, along with supporting those who have it.

marie5890

Im a big believer that is really is strongly hormonal for most women. TN being an exception. I think of all of hormones that women are exposed to, including birth control pills and various forms of dairy products. How about all the anti-bios that are given to cattle? chickens? pigs? that make it into our food chain? I wonder about those too....

Breast cancer is the third most common form of cancer found in cats (mammary cancer). By spaying a female cat prior to her first heat, chances of her getting it are drastically reduced.... 

Chickadee

Beware of Dr YouTube. Lots of opinions on there all trying to go viral.



As for research, it's going on all over the world in huge facilities like MD Anderson in Houston. Centers everywhere vying for research $$$$$.



Cancer is just immensely complicated and will defy any simplistic solution.

SabrinaElyse

Marie - I completey agree about all the hormones. Birth control and so many other factors really scare me, who knows what anything could be causing really. Intersting tip about the cats, something to think about.

Chickadee - Couldnt agree more about youtube. Things are always trying to go viral - jeesh! I kept up my research, found a few things on some reputable website as well - Such as Oncology Times, saying stuff like"The headline Breast Cancer Linked to Mouse Virus catches attention every few years as new findings support the hypothetical connection between a human variant of the mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) and human breast cancer". Really interesting. Another link on WebMD that I use for everything! Headaches, any time of health stuff and it was on there too. Let me know what you guys think:

 http://www.webmd.com/breast-cancer/news/20061214/mouse-virus-link-breast-cancer 

 Cancer seems so confusing, I hope a cure is around the corner! 

jenrio

Unfortunately, even if the cure IS "around the corner", it will take 15 years to go through clinical trials and 1 billion dollars.   In the meanwhile, it needs to compete with 100s of promising drugs (which turn out to be duds) for patients, researchers and dollars.   It's possible it may lose in the early competition for lack of tweaking, lack of patients, lack of money and languish forever.

That's why I keep trumpeting the virtues of ispy-2 trial, and other new clinical trial designs.    Cancer evolve drug resistance fast,  cancer drugs development is too slow in the last 30 years.  

Cancer drug development is sadly lagging the AIDS drug development.  AIDS bursted unto the scene in 1980s, killing its patients within 1 year.   The urgency of AIDS epidemic translated to 10% of NIH funding and massive researching effort and within 10 years, science worked out many of the previous unknowns and there were multiple drugs that target HIV.   Now AIDS patients could look forward to a normal life expectancy.   AIDS was the greatest challenge and the greatest triumph of modern medicine.

Metastatic breast cancer or lung cancer is not. 

exbrnxgrl

BC is complicated and confusing! The interesting part bout the cat comment is that in humans, it is thought that having children and breast feeding helps lower the chance of bc development. Sabrina, you say in your original post that, "There are many ways to help prevent breast cancer..." Certainly, healthy habits and lifestyle benefit us in general but sadly do not prevent breast cancer. There are many women on this forum who have impeccably clean diets and lifestyles and still got bc. My own sister, who spent more than 30 years, living clean, eating, chemical free, not overweight etc., etc., was diagnosed with uterine cancer and died within 4 months. To say that cancer is complex is the ultimate understatement, yet I remain optimistic that we are learning more each day. Not fast enough, but certainly better than 50 years ago. Caryn

marie5890

What I find curious exbrnxgrl is though it is thought that having children and breast feeding helps lower risk of BC, the vast majority of women at least on this site are mothers/grandmother with many having breast fed...

Not nearly as many with no children.

Does the big big picture show more women with BC not having children? I am curious at the big picture. 

exbrnxgrl

I don't know the answer to your question. My comment was in relation to an earlier comment about cat spaying and mammary cancer. Yes, you are correct,many women on this forum, myself included, have given birth and breastfed children.

Caryn

SabrinaElyse

Thank guys for your contribution. Exbrnxgrl great point. What I really meant is, there are things that people recommend to do that can help prevent cancer. So sorry about your sister. Interesting points about breast feeding as well - and Marie. I think that our best bet is researching every thing possible. That seems easier than it actually is through - seeing how everything need SO much funding. I know there are probably a bunch of theories out there. I am really interested in this virus one right now:

http://www.internalmedicinenews.com/search/search-single-view/virus-may-trigger-many-cases-of-breast-cancer/6de036f7be.html

exbrnxgrl

http://www.webmd.com/breast-cancer/news/20070417/breastfeeding-cuts-breast-cancer-risk

Cutting risk and prevention are two different things

Caryn

marie5890

I think part of the problem from many a prism is that many tend to think of cancer as "a" disease.

That is far from reality. So finding "a" cure or "a" reason sorta of misses the mark.

I know the more I read I also think about our immune systems. What are we doing with our lifestyles that lower our immune systems? The high stress levels of a western life style? How about lack of sleep? Many in western lifestyle as sleep deprived, that is a fact.

I think the variables are vast.  What kind of variables effect what triggers all the vast kinds of cancers? And why do some bodies struggle with ridden us of those cancers cells. And how do aging factor into many cancers?

maize

Human mammary tumor virus in inflammatory breast cancer.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20503403

Breast Cancer Virus
http://breastcancerbydrruddy.com/?p=3463

There may be multiple causes of the different types of breast cancer, or not.  Because hepatitis virus can cause liver cancer and certain strains of human papilloma virus can cause cervical cancer, and Epstein-Barr virus is implicated in some cancers (possibly Burkitt lymphoma) and herpes virus has been implicated in some cancers, there is speculation that breast cancer, maybe in some cases, but not all, could be triggered by a virus.  Herpes virus has been implicated in cholangiocarcinoma and pancreatic cancer.

Do viruses cause breast cancer?

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19109792

Presence of mouse mammary tumour-like virus gene sequences may be associated with morphology of specific human breast cancer.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16698952

Detection of human mammary tumor virus proteins in human breast cancer cells.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19781575

Vincent K. Tuohy, an immunologist at Cleveland Clinic Foundation, has been working on a cancer vaccine.

Vincent K. Tuohy
Department of Immunology
Lerner Research Institute (NB30)
The Cleveland Clinic Foundation 

If breast cancer can be caused by infection by a virus, then it seems to me that it would be possible for scientists to create a vaccine someday.  It seems for a long time it wasn't known that some strains of human papilloma virus caused cervical cancer. 

Human mammary tumor virus in inflammatory breast cancer.

"The authors have found that retroviral sequences with 85% to 95% homology to the mouse mammary tumor virus were present in 40% of the sporadic breast cancers of American women. These sequences were not found in normal breasts or other tumors." 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20503403

PS: Mayo Clinic in Minnesota is working on a breast cancer vaccine, too.

http://www.tapimmune.com/

SabrinaElyse

Thank you everyone for all if your support and interest in this topic. I was away on vacation and could not keep up - but Maize - thank you for your post. How interesting! This is amazing and defintly something I am interseted in learing more about. What do you all think about thier post? Interesting!

jenrio

I was reading MD anderson's oncology textbook, and it mentioned MMTV and HMTV.   Pretty cool new angle.  There will be cures coming out of this, but maybe 10 years out.

SabrinaElyse

Jenrio, you should check out this website I found. It talks alot about MMTV and HMTV. Very interesting and encourgaing! http://www.breasthealthandhealing.org/research/breakthroughs.html

SabrinaElyse

Also, this video is super informative. And it acctually kept my attention haha, but I learned alot and have hope now. I hope it can be funded http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4SCKJ1l27o