In a report presented at an American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting, scientists from the Cleveland Clinic suggest that prostate cancer, especially in patients who exhibit a certian type of genetic mutation, may be cause by a virus.

With the use of a Viro-Chip gene-chip, a virus called XMRV has been found in 40% of prostate cancer patients with a mutation in a gene called RNaseL which helps fight viral infections. While the scientists emphasize that there has been no direct causative link established between the virus and prostate cancer, the link between the incidence of the virus and the mutation suggests that prostate cancer may result from chronic inflammation, perhaps as a response to infection.

The researchers said they will test hundreds more prostate patients and are developing a diagnostic tool to test for the virus in blood. That way they could test thousands of patients and non-patients alike and figure out if there is any link between prostate cancer and the virus, which causes cancer in mice. The researchers also want to determine how widespread the virus is in humans and whether it is exclusive to prostate patients.

Findings from succeeding research may pave the way for development of new therapy against prostate cancer.

Read more from the Toronto Star and the Cleveland Clinic.