Cancer Viruses
First Evidence of Virus Link to Some Prostate Cancers
Written by Jacquie Strax Monday, September 07 2009 00:00
A type of virus known to cause leukemia and sarcomas in animals has been found for the first time in human prostate cancer cells, according to researchers at the University of Utah and Columbia University medical schools. Their discovery may help in identifying a viral cause of prostate cancer.This would open opportunities for developing diagnostic tests, vaccines, and therapies for treating the cancer.
The researchers say they found the XMRV virus in almost a third of the prostate tumors they looked at.
"We found that XMRV was present in 27 percent of prostate cancers we examined and that it was associated with more aggressive tumors," said Ila R. Singh, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of pathology at University of Utah and the study’s senior author. "We still don’t know that this virus causes cancer in people, but that is an important question we’re going to investigate."
