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Paper Reports Discovery Of Virus Implicated In Genetics Of Prostate Cancer

Date:
April 1, 2006
Source:
Public Library of Science
Summary:
The Open Access journal PLoS Pathogens has published an article detailing research that identifies a new retrovirus in the tissue of human prostate tumors. The paper reports that the researchers detected the new virus more frequently in men with mutations in both their copies of RNASEL than in those with at least one normal copy.
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The Open Access journal PLoS Pathogens has published an article detailing research that identifies a new retrovirus in the tissue of human prostate tumors.

The research was first announced at an American Society of Clinical Oncology Meeting, but only now is the full, peer-reviewed report available.

The paper, entitled "Identification of a Novel Gammaretrovirus in Prostate Tumors of Patients Homozygous for R462Q RNASEL Variant," reports that the researchers detected the new virus more frequently in men with mutations in both their copies of RNASEL than in those with at least one normal copy.

Scientists have long speculated about a connection between cancer and infectious diseases. The possible connection has been especially true in the case of prostate cancer because a variant on the viral-defense gene, RNASEL, has been implicated in 15% of prostate cancer cases. The newly discovered virus is closely related to virus associated with leukemia in mice.

"We have made a very fascinating discovery never before seen in humans that is very similar to one found in a mammal that causes cancer," said Dr. Eric Klein of the Cleveland Clinic. "But we have not proven this virus causes prostate cancer."

Klein was a coauthor on the paper, along with Joe Derisi, the lead author, and other scientists at the University of California San Francisco.

The paper's observations raise a large number of questions for future experimentation, including whether there is any relationship between the virus and the disease, what cells are infected, and the epidemiology of infection.


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Cite This Page:

Public Library of Science. "Paper Reports Discovery Of Virus Implicated In Genetics Of Prostate Cancer." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 1 April 2006. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/04/060401111404.htm>.
Public Library of Science. (2006, April 1). Paper Reports Discovery Of Virus Implicated In Genetics Of Prostate Cancer. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 28, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/04/060401111404.htm
Public Library of Science. "Paper Reports Discovery Of Virus Implicated In Genetics Of Prostate Cancer." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/04/060401111404.htm (accessed March 28, 2024).

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