The researchers from the University of Utah and Columbia University medical schools found the virus in 27% of the 200 cancerous prostates they looked at.
They say it was associated with more aggressive tumours and found in only 6% of non-cancerous prostates.
This is the first report to link XMRV (Xenotropic murine leukaemia virus-related virus) to human cancers
Retrovirus
XMRV is a retrovirus like HIV which works by inserting a copy of its own DNA into the chromosomes of a cell they infect.
Where this occurs next to a gene that regulates cell growth it can disrupt the normal development of the cell.
XMRV is known to cause leukaemia and other tumours in animalsOne of the things peculiar about this virus is that it has an androgen response element - it grows better in the presence of testosterone and possibly other steroid hormones.
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