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New Virus Linked to Cancer in Mice Found in Men with
Prostate Cancer
The virus, similar to one causing leukemia in
mice, found 30 times more often in patients with a unique genetic
mutation
Feb. 24, 2006 - New findings on the detection and
treatment of early and localized prostate cancer, which is expected to
see 234,460 new cases in 2006, were discussed today at
a press conference at the 2006 Prostate Cancer Symposium in San
Francisco but the attention-grabber from the session was the
announcement that a new virus has been found in humans that appears to
be associated with prostate cancer. Most cases of prostate cancer are
found in senior citizens about age 70.
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The researchers said they have identified a new
virus in humans that is similar to a virus that causes leukemia in mice.
They also said it was found 30 times more frequently in men who had
prostate cancer and a particular genetic mutation than in men who lacked
this mutation. The virus is called XMRV and may possibly be sexually
transmitted.
Damage to a protein that fights viruses - RNaseL -
may increase susceptibility to prostate cancer, say the scientist. This
dysfunction may occur when a gene called HPC1 – the gene that produces
the RNaseL protein – is mutated and stops functioning normally. Men with
this genetic alteration are more susceptible to prostate cancer.
“This is a newly identified infectious agent in
humans,” said investigator Eric Klein, MD, Professor of Surgery at the
Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine and Head of Urologic
Oncology at the Glickman Urological Institute of the Cleveland Clinic
Foundation. “While more research is needed to confirm our findings, this
could be the first evidence that a virus is linked to prostate cancer.”
“These results are truly remarkable because they
show that the same genetic change that makes men susceptible to prostate
cancer also determines whether the virus is present in the prostate,”
said Cleveland Clinic collaborator Robert Silverman, PhD, who discovered
the RNaseL gene 15 years ago.
“While we do not yet know if the virus actually
causes prostate cancer, this study represents a previously unexplored
area in prostate cancer research.”
Collaborating researchers from the University of
California, San Francisco used a tool (called a DNA ViroChip) containing
the genetic sequences of nearly 1,000 viruses to screen prostate tumor
samples from 86 men who had their prostates surgically removed. The team
of investigators at the two institutions compared the incidence of viral
infection between men who had two mutated copies of the HPC1 gene and
men with one or no copies of this altered gene.
They found the XMRV virus in 45% of the 20 men with
two mutated copies of the HPC1 gene, compared with only 1.5% of the 66
men with one copy or no copies of this mutated gene.
Dr. Klein noted that data from other studies have
suggested that some prostate cancers could be caused by infection. “The
hypothesis is that infection leads to chronic inflammation of the
prostate, which ultimately leads to cancer,” he explained.
Because the XMRV virus was found in prostate
tissue, Dr. Klein speculated that it could be sexually transmitted,
similar to human papillomavirus (HPV), which is closely associated with
cervical cancer.
The researchers are planning an epidemiological
study to look at the association between sexual history, personal and
family medical history, viral infection, and prostate cancer. If the
XMRV virus does indeed cause prostate cancer, it could potentially
become a therapeutic target for drugs or a vaccine.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer other
than skin cancer among men in the U.S., with an estimated 234,460 new
cases and 27,350 deaths expected in 2006. Although death rates have
decreased since the early 1990s, rates in African American men remain
more than twice as high as rates in white men.
Studies discussed today included -
● The above study showing that the XMRV virus was
found 30 times more frequently in men with prostate cancer who had a
specific genetic mutation
● Research showing that brachytherapy—implantation
of radioactive “seeds” in the prostate—and high-dose external beam
radiation therapy are equally effective for the treatment of localized
prostate cancer
● Research showing a new prostate cancer
management strategy—called “active surveillance”—that includes periodic
PSA testing and prostate biopsies may be an effective treatment strategy
for men with low-risk, early-stage prostate cancer
● A study showing that men with early-stage
prostate cancer who have a slow-rising prostate-specific antigen (PSA)
level are likely to live longer than those with fast-rising levels
● Three new studies on specific aspects of using
PSA velocity (PSAV)—the rate at which a man’s prostate-specific antigen
level increases—for detecting cancer and predicting its aggressiveness
(See separate backgrounder on “Additional Studies of Note”)
The
symposium is co-sponsored by the American Society of Clinical Oncology,
the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology, the
Prostate Cancer Foundation, and the Society of Urologic Oncology.
More
information at
American Society of Clinical Oncology
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