An Evaluation of the Carcinogenicity of Simian Virus 40 in Man

THE DISCOVERY that simian virus 40 (SV40) is oncogenic for certain newborn laboratory animals has raised the question of its carcinogenicity in man, particularly since this agent has been found in poliomyelitis and adenovirus vaccines. It is estimated that live SV40 has been injected into and ingested by hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of vaccines.¹Although clinical disease has not been reported, SV40 has low infectivity in man when administered by mouth with attenuated poliovirus vaccine¹and by the respiratory route.²From the evidence presently available, however, it appears that the largest source ofpotentialhuman infectivity by SV40 in the US was formalinized poliomyelitis vaccine containing the simian agent administered subcutaneously.³The purpose of this report is to present a brief review of the literature and an epidemiologic study bearing on this problem. Review of Literature In 1960 Sweet and Hilleman⁴reported the