Cattle Leukemia Virus Found in Milk Linked to Breast Cancer – Study
Published time: 18 Sep, 2015 17:54
Women exposed to bovine leukemia virus, a routine presence in bulk milk tanks at large dairy farms, are 3.1 times more likely to develop breast cancer than women whose tissue was not subject to the virus, known as BLV, according to a new study.
These odds are higher than those associated with other top breast cancer risks, including obesity and alcohol consumption, according to researchers at the University of California Berkeley.
The research team analyzed breast tissue from 239 women, some who had breast cancer and some who did not. They found that 59 percent of breast cancer cells showed exposure to BLV in their DNA, while cells from women who had not contracted breast cancer only had 29-percent exposure to BLV.
The link between BLV – which, while common in dairy and beef cattle, only affects 5 percent of cattle that have the virus – and breast cancer is significant, the researchers said, but not a conclusive cause-effect.
"The association between BLV infection and breast cancer was surprising to many previous reviewers of the study, but it's important to note that our results do not prove that the virus causes cancer," said Dr. Gertrude Buehring, a professor of virology at the University of California Berkeley. "However, this is the most important first step. We still need to confirm that the infection with the virus happened before, not after, breast cancer developed, and if so, how."
The same group of researchers reported last year that BLV could be transferred to humans. BLV infects cattle's blood cells and mammary tissue, and was long thought not to be a threat to humans.
Read the rest at Source... RT
Link: http://www.rt.com/usa/315899-cows-milk-breast-cancer/
K
Published time: 18 Sep, 2015 17:54
Women exposed to bovine leukemia virus, a routine presence in bulk milk tanks at large dairy farms, are 3.1 times more likely to develop breast cancer than women whose tissue was not subject to the virus, known as BLV, according to a new study.
These odds are higher than those associated with other top breast cancer risks, including obesity and alcohol consumption, according to researchers at the University of California Berkeley.
The research team analyzed breast tissue from 239 women, some who had breast cancer and some who did not. They found that 59 percent of breast cancer cells showed exposure to BLV in their DNA, while cells from women who had not contracted breast cancer only had 29-percent exposure to BLV.
The link between BLV – which, while common in dairy and beef cattle, only affects 5 percent of cattle that have the virus – and breast cancer is significant, the researchers said, but not a conclusive cause-effect.
"The association between BLV infection and breast cancer was surprising to many previous reviewers of the study, but it's important to note that our results do not prove that the virus causes cancer," said Dr. Gertrude Buehring, a professor of virology at the University of California Berkeley. "However, this is the most important first step. We still need to confirm that the infection with the virus happened before, not after, breast cancer developed, and if so, how."
The same group of researchers reported last year that BLV could be transferred to humans. BLV infects cattle's blood cells and mammary tissue, and was long thought not to be a threat to humans.
Read the rest at Source... RT
Link: http://www.rt.com/usa/315899-cows-milk-breast-cancer/
K
