| Abstract: | Three temporally and geographically restricted cases of acute lymphatic leukemia in children, in which two of the three patients had an unusual and suspicious history of canine contact, were investigated. Subsequent epidemiological studies showed a high frequency of dog contact and of dog bite in 100 leukemic, 48 lymphomatous, and 194 nonneoplastic control children. Thirty percent of the leukemic children had no history of dog contact or dog bite. Thin-section electron microscopy studies of dog specimens revealed the presence of murine leukemia virus-like particles in specimens from control dogs, tumorous dogs and non-tumorous dogs associated with human leukemics. A higher incidence of such particles was found in the blood and urine of associated dogs than of tumorous or control dogs. These findings neither prove nor disprove an etiological relationship between dogs and cases of human leukemia. It is hoped that they will stimulate others to consider animal contacts with reference to human neoplastic disease. |
