As many as 37 percent of human breast cancer cases may be attributable to exposure to bovine leukemia virus.
The Role of Bovine Leukemia Virus in Breast Cancer
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Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.
Up to 20% of all cancers are linked to infections—particularly viruses—and the list of potentially carcinogenic infectious agents is growing. It could be great if we found a virus that contributed to breast cancer risk, because then, we might have new ways to prevent and treat it. Currently, the dietary link between meat and dairy and breast cancer is considered a saturated fat effect. But, there is a cancer-causing cow virus that infects the mammary gland cells of cows. Infectious virus is then released into the milk supply. And, since most U.S. dairy herds are infected, scientists figured Americans are often exposed to this bovine leukemia virus. But, we didn’t have proof, until 2003—34 years after the virus was first identified.
Early on, our best available tests failed to find antibodies to the virus in human blood. When our immune system is exposed to a virus, it creates antibodies to attack it. No antibodies; no exposure. So, this led to the prevailing opinion that this virus poses no public health hazard. Those tests were state of the art at the time, but extremely insensitive, compared to more modern techniques.
So, researchers decided to re-examine the issue, now that we had better tests. So, they took blood from about 250 people just to answer the question: Do any humans have antibodies to bovine leukemia virus? And 191 of them did; 74%—not that we should be surprised. By then, nearly 90% of American dairy herds were infected. And in the latest national survey, 100% of the big factory farms were infected when you test the milk coming out of those operations.
So, why isn’t there an epidemic of udder cancer out there? Well, see, dairy cattle are hamburgered so young that there’s not a lot of time for them to develop gross tumors. And, that’s how most women may be getting infected. Although pasteurization should knock out the virus, who hasn’t eaten a pink-in-the-middle burger at some point in their life?
The bottom line is that the long-held assumption that bovine leukemia virus is not a public health hazard is no longer tenable. This whole field of investigation needs to be reopened, with the next step determining whether humans are actively, actually infected. The presence of antibodies is generally interpreted as an indicator of past or present infection. But, theoretically, maybe we just made antibodies to dead virus we ate—virus that had been killed by cooking, or pasteurization. Just because three-quarters of us have been exposed doesn’t mean we were actively infected with the virus.
To prove that, we’d actually have to find the retrovirus actively stitched into our own DNA. Well look, millions of women have gotten breast surgery. Why not just look at that tissue? Researchers did, and, in 2014, published their findings in the CDC’s Emerging Infectious Diseases journal. And, 44% of samples tested positive—proving for the first time that humans can be infected with bovine leukemia virus.
The final step then, is to determine if the virus is actually contributing to disease. In other words, are the bovine leukemia viruses we’re finding in breast tissue cancer-causing, or just harmless passengers? One way to figure that out is to see if the virus is more often present in those with breast cancer. But no one had ever looked for the virus in breast tissue from cancer victims, until now. The presence of bovine leukemia virus DNA in breast tissues was strongly associated with diagnosed and confirmed breast cancer. As many as 37% of breast cancer cases may be attributable to BLV exposure. As many as 37% of human breast cancer cases may be attributable to exposure to bovine leukemia virus.
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- G C Buehring, H M Shen, H M Jensen, D L Jin, M Hudes, G Block. Exposure to Bovine Leukemia Virus Is Associated with Breast Cancer: A Case-Control Study. PLoS One. 2015 Sep 2;10(9):e0134304.
- G C Buehring, H M Shen, H M Jensen, K Y Choi, D Sun, G Nuovo. Bovine leukemia virus DNA in human breast tissue. Emerg Infect Dis. 2014 May;20(5):772-82.
- K Alibek, A Kakpenova, A Mussabekova, M Sypabekova, N Karatayeva. Role of viruses in the development of breast cancer. Infect Agent Cancer. 2013 Sep 2;8:32.
- J Akhter, M A Ali Aziz, A Al Ajlan, A Tulbah, M Akhtar. Breast cancer: is there a viral connection? Adv Anat Pathol. 2014 Sep;21(5):373-81.
- G C Buehring, S M Philpott, K Y Choi. Humans have antibodies reactive with Bovine leukemia virus. AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses. 2003 Dec;19(12):1105-13.
- J S Lawson, B Heng. Viruses and breast cancer. Cancers (Basel). 2010 Apr 30;2(2):752-72.
- (Author unknown) Bovine Leukosis Virus (BLV) on U.S. Dairy Operations, 2007.Veterinary ServicesCenters for Epidemiology and Animal Health. APHIS Info Sheet.
- J F Ferrer, S J Kenyon, P Gupta. Milk of dairy cows frequently contains a leukemogenic virus. Science. 1981 Aug 28;213(4511):1014-6.
- G C Buehring, P M Kramme, R D Schultz. Evidence for bovine leukemia virus in mammary epithelial cells of infected cows. Lab Invest. 1994 Sep;71(3):359-65.
Image thanks to Wayne Stadler via flickr
Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.
Up to 20% of all cancers are linked to infections—particularly viruses—and the list of potentially carcinogenic infectious agents is growing. It could be great if we found a virus that contributed to breast cancer risk, because then, we might have new ways to prevent and treat it. Currently, the dietary link between meat and dairy and breast cancer is considered a saturated fat effect. But, there is a cancer-causing cow virus that infects the mammary gland cells of cows. Infectious virus is then released into the milk supply. And, since most U.S. dairy herds are infected, scientists figured Americans are often exposed to this bovine leukemia virus. But, we didn’t have proof, until 2003—34 years after the virus was first identified.
Early on, our best available tests failed to find antibodies to the virus in human blood. When our immune system is exposed to a virus, it creates antibodies to attack it. No antibodies; no exposure. So, this led to the prevailing opinion that this virus poses no public health hazard. Those tests were state of the art at the time, but extremely insensitive, compared to more modern techniques.
So, researchers decided to re-examine the issue, now that we had better tests. So, they took blood from about 250 people just to answer the question: Do any humans have antibodies to bovine leukemia virus? And 191 of them did; 74%—not that we should be surprised. By then, nearly 90% of American dairy herds were infected. And in the latest national survey, 100% of the big factory farms were infected when you test the milk coming out of those operations.
So, why isn’t there an epidemic of udder cancer out there? Well, see, dairy cattle are hamburgered so young that there’s not a lot of time for them to develop gross tumors. And, that’s how most women may be getting infected. Although pasteurization should knock out the virus, who hasn’t eaten a pink-in-the-middle burger at some point in their life?
The bottom line is that the long-held assumption that bovine leukemia virus is not a public health hazard is no longer tenable. This whole field of investigation needs to be reopened, with the next step determining whether humans are actively, actually infected. The presence of antibodies is generally interpreted as an indicator of past or present infection. But, theoretically, maybe we just made antibodies to dead virus we ate—virus that had been killed by cooking, or pasteurization. Just because three-quarters of us have been exposed doesn’t mean we were actively infected with the virus.
To prove that, we’d actually have to find the retrovirus actively stitched into our own DNA. Well look, millions of women have gotten breast surgery. Why not just look at that tissue? Researchers did, and, in 2014, published their findings in the CDC’s Emerging Infectious Diseases journal. And, 44% of samples tested positive—proving for the first time that humans can be infected with bovine leukemia virus.
The final step then, is to determine if the virus is actually contributing to disease. In other words, are the bovine leukemia viruses we’re finding in breast tissue cancer-causing, or just harmless passengers? One way to figure that out is to see if the virus is more often present in those with breast cancer. But no one had ever looked for the virus in breast tissue from cancer victims, until now. The presence of bovine leukemia virus DNA in breast tissues was strongly associated with diagnosed and confirmed breast cancer. As many as 37% of breast cancer cases may be attributable to BLV exposure. As many as 37% of human breast cancer cases may be attributable to exposure to bovine leukemia virus.
Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.
- G C Buehring, H M Shen, H M Jensen, D L Jin, M Hudes, G Block. Exposure to Bovine Leukemia Virus Is Associated with Breast Cancer: A Case-Control Study. PLoS One. 2015 Sep 2;10(9):e0134304.
- G C Buehring, H M Shen, H M Jensen, K Y Choi, D Sun, G Nuovo. Bovine leukemia virus DNA in human breast tissue. Emerg Infect Dis. 2014 May;20(5):772-82.
- K Alibek, A Kakpenova, A Mussabekova, M Sypabekova, N Karatayeva. Role of viruses in the development of breast cancer. Infect Agent Cancer. 2013 Sep 2;8:32.
- J Akhter, M A Ali Aziz, A Al Ajlan, A Tulbah, M Akhtar. Breast cancer: is there a viral connection? Adv Anat Pathol. 2014 Sep;21(5):373-81.
- G C Buehring, S M Philpott, K Y Choi. Humans have antibodies reactive with Bovine leukemia virus. AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses. 2003 Dec;19(12):1105-13.
- J S Lawson, B Heng. Viruses and breast cancer. Cancers (Basel). 2010 Apr 30;2(2):752-72.
- (Author unknown) Bovine Leukosis Virus (BLV) on U.S. Dairy Operations, 2007.Veterinary ServicesCenters for Epidemiology and Animal Health. APHIS Info Sheet.
- J F Ferrer, S J Kenyon, P Gupta. Milk of dairy cows frequently contains a leukemogenic virus. Science. 1981 Aug 28;213(4511):1014-6.
- G C Buehring, P M Kramme, R D Schultz. Evidence for bovine leukemia virus in mammary epithelial cells of infected cows. Lab Invest. 1994 Sep;71(3):359-65.
Image thanks to Wayne Stadler via flickr
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Title
The Role of Bovine Leukemia Virus in Breast Cancer
LicenseCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Content URLDoctor's Note
For some historical background leading up to these shocking findings, see my video Is Bovine Leukemia Virus in Milk Infectious?.
I couldn’t wait to read the meat and dairy industry journals to see how they’d try to spin this. Find out what I discovered in Industry Response to Bovine Leukemia Virus in Breast Cancer.
You may also be interested in my 2019 video, The Effects of Hormones in Dairy Milk on Cancer.
2022 Update: I just released two new videos on BLV. Check out Bovine Leukemia Virus as a Cause of Breast Cancer and Breast Cancer and the Bovine Leukemia Virus in Meat and Dairy.
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