Virus Might Be One Cause of Prostate Cancer: Study

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A virus known to cause leukemia and tumors in animals can be found in some prostate tumors and might be one cause of prostate cancer, U.S. researchers reported on Monday.

They found xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus or XMRV in 27 percent of the human prostate tumors they looked at, especially aggressive tumors.

The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, may offer ways to better identify dangerous prostate tumors and to make drugs or vaccines to treat or even prevent prostate cancer.

A virus known to cause leukemia and tumors in animals can be found in some prostate tumors and might be one cause of prostate cancer, U.S. researchers reported on Monday.

(ABC News Photo Illustration)

"Our analysis of 233 cases of prostate cancers and 101 benign controls showed an association of XMRV infection with prostate cancer, especially with more aggressive tumors," Dr. Ila Singh of the University of Utah and Columbia University in New York and colleagues wrote.

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