Virus linked to prostate cancer

A team based at the University of Utah and Columbia University medical schools, has identified the virus as XMRV (Xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus) which has been found in the malignant prostate tissues in humans.

If the findings of their research prove valid, it could lead to better diagnostic tests, drugs and vaccines to treat or prevent prostate cancer.

A research team headed by senior study author Dr. Ila R. Singh, an associate professor of pathology at the University of Utah, analyzed 200 samples of prostate cancer cells and compared them with 100 samples of healthy prostate cells.

Research showed that proteins from the virus were exclusively present in 27 percent of the prostate cancer cells, thereby indicating some kind of relation between being infected with the virus and developing prostate tumor. However, the researchers found the virus only in 6 percent of the healthy tissues.

"We found that XMRV was present in 27 per cent of prostate cancers we examined and that it was associated with more aggressive tumors," said Dr. Ila R. Singh.

"We still don't know that this virus causes cancer in people, but that is an important question we're going to investigate," Dr. Singh added.

Identification of the virus has raised several questions
The new study also confirmed that XMRV is a gammaretrovirus, a simple retrovirus which works by inserting a copy of their own DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid) into the chromosomes of a cell they infect. This activity can enhance the growth of cells so rapidly that eventually it develops into a cancer.

The research has also raised some questions like whether the virus infects women, whether it can be transmitted sexually or whether it can cause cancer in other parts of the human body?

Commenting on this, Dr. Singh said, "We have many questions right now and we believe this merits further investigation."

XMRV could lead to possibility of vaccines
If the retrovirus is linked to the cause of prostate cancer in humans then it can have major implications for the prevention of viral transmission.

Dr. Chris Parker, Cancer Research UK's prostate cancer expert at the Institute of Cancer Research said, "This exciting study raises the possibility that the virus might contribute to the development of some prostate cancers.

"In the future, if it turns out to be true, then we could speculate about the possibility of vaccination to protect against prostate cancer, similar to the approach now used to prevent cervical cancer," Dr. Parker added.

It’s been reported that prostate cancer is the second most common form of disease after skin cancer. Each year, around 200,000 American men are diagnosed with this disease and most cases are those aged 70-74.