Antiretroviral drugs, used to prevent HIV transmission from mother to child, are now believed to cause genetic damage in infants. This damage, leading to an increased risk of developing cancer, makes it highly plausible these children may be diagnosed with the disease in mid and late adulthood.

Two new studies indicate there are cancer-causing effects of transplacental exposure to AZT, an antiretroviral drug. These effects -- like increased incidence of tumors and tumors with genetic changes -- have been demonstrated in mice and rats and seem to be cause for concern in humans too.

"The cumulative mutagenesis data suggest that infants exposed transplacentally to AZT may be at increased risk for cancer as they age," said one researcher, whose findings are published in Environment and Molecular Mutagenesis.

A variation of a virus that infects common household mice might be responsible for one-third of the breast cancer cases occurring in the US, according to research presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium as reported by WedMD.

The mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV), is spread like a cold virus from person to person, although the researchers are not certain if this virus is spread by sneezing or food contamination, or other means of transmission.

Mt. Sinai School of Medicine's Dr. James F. Holland is quoted as saying, "In Asia, the virus plays a very small role in causing the disease. The human breast cancer virus may explain why breast cancer rates differ throughout the world." The house mouse in question is not commonly found in Asia.

For so long, we have been told that the Asian diet pyramid, when compared to the Western diet pyramid, was one of the contributing factors in higher breast cancer cases for US women, and lower breast cancer cases for Asian women. It might well bea contributing factor still, as diet is firmly established as a cause for increasing the risks of all cancers. However, we cannot ignore that the researchers found the common house mouse virus present in the breast cancer tissue samples in 30-40 percent of the women from North America, Europe, and Australia.

That virus plays a role in the development of some cancers is a known, and it brings up interesting questions as to what leads to cancer, and potentially some explanations for the incidence of breast cancer for women who practice what is traditionally considered a healthy lifestyle and have none of the risk factors. Cancer is complex. As time goes on, I believe we are all going to sit back and be surprised at some of the causes for cancer as they are discovered.

Don't say I didn't warn you ahead of time we were going to hit this pothole on the cervical cancer vaccine road.  To briefly recap, last month I noticed Merck was running a television PSA, Tell Someone, in an attempt raise awareness about the virus that can lead to cervical cancer. Not once did it mention anything about the cervical cancer vaccine Merck was hoping to win FDA approval for -- and the same cervical cancer vaccine that will be available as early as next month. Let's remember this vaccine works best if administered to girls before they become sexually active. I mused that this was an intentional preemptive move on the part of Merck to the inevitable resistance from the Christian-right and other religious groups over a vaccine associated with sexual activity.

I predicted it was going to be a controversial issue and debate where sexual activity of teenage girls became the focal point and not the potentially life-saving cancer prevention vaccine. I was betting that the awareness-raising ad campaign from the drug company in the virus link to cervical cancer was an attempt to minimize the debate with an educational approach.

Sure enough, today I ran across a Reuters news article reporting just such an admission on the part of the drug company and discussion we will call the big bump in the road. Merck admits that its educational PSA was an effort to win over the Christian Right to the benefits of a vaccine to prevent cancer. Hang on to your seat -- we are coming up to the pothole.  Merck has revealed its plans to push for the vaccine as mandatory to school admission.

This is where the opposition from the Christian-right becomes more of an abyss than a pothole. The Christian Right feels the cervical cancer vaccine will lead to promiscuity and a false sense of security. Evangelical Christian groups, such as the Family Research Council and Focus on the Family, believe that it should be left up to parents to decide if their daughters are protected against cervical cancer by way of a vaccine. It's all about sex. It's all about the religious philosophies concerning sexual activity and eventually -- and sadly -- little to do with saving lives or preventing cancer.