No evidence for the involvement of XMRV or MCV in the pathogenesis of breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: The aetiology of breast cancer remains elusive. A viral aetiology has been proposed, but to date no virus has been conclusively demonstrated to be involved. Recently, two new viruses, namely Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCV) and xenotropic murine leukaemia virus-related virus (XMRV) have been identified and implicated in the pathogenesis of Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) and familial form of prostate cancer, respectively. METHODS: We examined 204 samples from 58 different cases of breast cancer for presence of MCV or XMRV by PCR. Samples consisted of both malignant and non-malignant tissues. Additionally, we included 6 cases of MCC and 12 cases of prostate cancer as potential controls for MCV and XMRV, respectively. RESULTS: All of the breast cancer samples examined were negative for both MCV and XMRV. However, 4/6 MCC and 2/12 prostate cancer samples were found to be positive for MCV and XMRV, respectively. Sequence analysis of the amplified products confirmed that these sequences belonged to MCV and XMRV. CONCLUSION: We conclude that there is no evidence for the involvement of MCV or XMRV in the pathogenesis of breast cancer. What role these viruses have in the pathogenesis of MCC and prostate carcinomas remains to be demonstrated.

Perceptions of and risk factors for andropause.

There has been some controversy about whether males undergo an andropause (male equivalent of a menopause). This study seeks to describe how older males perceive and understand this entity and whether there is an association between the age of onset of andropause and risk factors such as ethnic origin, smoking, alcohol, hypertension, and cerebrovascular disease. A nonexperimental, cross-sectional study was conducted at the outpatient clinic at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Subjects were interviewed by a single investigator and administered a questionnaire consisting of 22 items, including information on patient demographics, patient understanding of the andropause, patient understanding of possible interventions with hormonal therapy, medical, and drug history, and social habits such as smoking and drinking. Altogether 302 male patients were recruited, 71% of which were above the age of 60 years, and 87% were white, 6% were Hispanic, and 5% were black. The knowledge of patients toward the entity of andropause was lacking, though the majority (70%) expressed an interest in getting further knowledge. The most frequent age of onset of symptoms related to andropause was 51-60 years, and patients reported symptoms such as impotence, weakness, and memory loss. The next most common age reported to he associated with age of onset was 61-70 years. Multivariate regression analysis reveals that smoking more than 10 cigarettes a day was independently associated with an earlier onset of symptoms of andropause, bringing down the age of onset to below 50 years (p = .01, OR = 2.5, CI = 1.2-5.3). We found no association with risk factors such as ethnicity and alcohol. Andropause is experienced by many older males but knowledge of the entity is nonuniform. Older males are at risk for an earlier onset of andropause if they were smokers. This is the first study looking at risk factors for andropause and the results are consistent with studies in females on smoking and menopause.

Perceptions of and risk factors for andropause.

There has been some controversy about whether males undergo andropause (male equivalent of a menopause). This study seeks to describe how older males perceive and understand this entity. It also explores the possibility of an association between the age of onset of andropause and risk factors such as ethnic origin, smoking, alcohol, hypertension, and cerebrovascular disease. A nonexperimental, cross-sectional study was conducted at the outpatient clinic at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Subjects were interviewed by a single investigator and answered a questionnaire consisting of 22 items, including information on patient demographics, patient understanding of andropause, patient understanding of possible interventions with hormonal therapy, medical and drug history, and social habits such as smoking and drinking. Altogether 302 male patients were recruited: 71% of the survey population were above the age of 60 years, and 87% were white, 6% Hispanic, and 5% black. Patient knowledge of andropause was lacking, though the majority (70%) expressed an interest in getting further knowledge. The most frequent age for onset of symptoms related to andropause was 51-60 years, and patients reported symptoms such as impotence, weakness, and memory loss. The next most common age associated with onset was 61-70 years. Multivariate regression analysis revealed that smoking more than 10 cigarettes a day was independently associated with an earlier onset of andropause symptoms bringing down the age of onset to below 50 years (p = .01, OR = 2.5, CI = 1.2-5.3). We found no association with risk factors such as ethnicity or alcohol. Andropause is experienced by many older males but knowledge of the entity is nonuniform. Smokers are at risk for an earlier onset of andropause. This is the first study to look at risk factors for andropause and the results are consistent with studies in females on smoking and menopause.