PMID- 16516398
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20060814
LR  - 20220311
IS  - 0306-9877 (Print)
IS  - 0306-9877 (Linking)
VI  - 67
IP  - 1
DP  - 2006
TI  - Do dogs harbour risk factors for human breast cancer?
PG  - 21-6
AB  - We ask consulting patients regularly whether they keep pets in order to identify 
      zoonotic factors. It became apparent that patients with breast carcinoma (N=69) 
      owned significantly more often dogs but not cats compared to age matched female 
      controls. We compared the frequencies of dog and pet ownership with data from 
      public available statistics on women (N=1320) of the same age group in Bavaria. 
      The most striking result was that more than twice the number of patients kept 
      dogs permanently in the last 10 years and at the time of interrogation as 
      compared to control individuals at the time of interrogation (p=0.0000003, 
      relative risk 3.5). Further internet search on the morbidity of breast carcinoma 
      showed in dogs a protracted course of disease and metastases into lung, liver and 
      bones, resembling the course of disease in human breast cancer. In contrast with 
      this, breast cancer presented in cats a dramatically short course and the main 
      but unusual location of metastasis presents in the hind legs. A recent 
      publication in Norway reported on a high frequency (53.3%) of breast carcinomas 
      in 14,401 investigated dogs. Which transmissible factor or factors come into 
      question? Variants of the mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) can productively 
      replicate in human cells and in different animals, including dogs. Many 
      investigators, but not all, could identify MMTV-like sequences in sporadic human 
      breast cancer. MMTV or MMTV-like sequences have not been investigated in canine 
      breast carcinomas until now. It is also conceivable that other microbes from the 
      dog, for example bacteria, could participate in the first steps of carcinogenesis 
      in human. It was recently shown that bartonella species promote vascularization 
      and prevent apoptosis of infected cells with the same methods as helicobacter 
      pylori. Our considerations require further research. Epidemiologic cohort studies 
      and identification of potential carcinogenic microbial factors will prove or 
      disprove our hypothesis that risk factors from dogs could contribute to the 
      carcinogenesis of human breast cancer.
FAU - Laumbacher, B
AU  - Laumbacher B
AD  - Institute of Immunology, Klinikum Innenstadt, University of Munich, Goethestrasse 
      31, 80336 Muenchen, Germany.
FAU - Fellerhoff, B
AU  - Fellerhoff B
FAU - Herzberger, B
AU  - Herzberger B
FAU - Wank, R
AU  - Wank R
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
DEP - 20060303
PL  - United States
TA  - Med Hypotheses
JT  - Medical hypotheses
JID - 7505668
SB  - IM
MH  - Animals
MH  - Animals, Domestic
MH  - Apoptosis
MH  - Breast Neoplasms/*etiology
MH  - Cats
MH  - Dogs
MH  - Female
MH  - Germany
MH  - Humans
MH  - Mammary Tumor Virus, Mouse/metabolism
MH  - Models, Biological
MH  - Registries
MH  - Risk Factors
MH  - Zoonoses
EDAT- 2006/03/07 09:00
MHDA- 2006/08/15 09:00
CRDT- 2006/03/07 09:00
PHST- 2006/01/02 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2006/01/04 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2006/03/07 09:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2006/08/15 09:00 [medline]
PHST- 2006/03/07 09:00 [entrez]
AID - S0306-9877(06)00057-0 [pii]
AID - 10.1016/j.mehy.2006.01.016 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Med Hypotheses. 2006;67(1):21-6. doi: 10.1016/j.mehy.2006.01.016. Epub 2006 Mar 
      3.