A research team claims they have discovered a virus that may be linked to prostate cancer. The virus, previously known to cause leukaemia in animals, has now been linked to human prostate cancer, suggesting that the disease may have a viral origin.
The virus, xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus or XMRV was present in 27 percent of prostate cancers compared to only 6 percent of health prostate cells, the study showed.
The study was conducted by lead researcher, Ila Singh, an associate professor of pathology at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. The discovery of the virus could help doctors differentiate the highest risk cases, from the slow growing tumors. Many slow growing tumors do not require aggressive treatment with surgery, chemotherapy or radiation, which carry side effects. Singh and her fellow researchers examined more than 200 human prostate cancers, and compared them to more than 100 non-cancerous prostate tissues.
XMRV is a retrovirus similar to HIV, which works by inserting a copy of its own DNA into the chromosomes of a cell they infect. Where this happens next to a gene that regulates cell growth, it can disrupt the normal development of the cell.
If further research proves the virus causes prostate cancer in humans, it would open opportunities for developing diagnostic tests, vaccines, and therapies for treating the cancer, according to the study published Monday online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Each year there are approximately 200,000 men in U.S. diagnosed with prostate cancer. It is the second-most common form of the disease, next to skin cancer. Close to a third of the men diagnosed will have slow-moving tumors that they will choose to live with rather than treat
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