The Department of Cancer Biology's Dr. Robert Silverman was the first, together with his collaborators, to report human infection by a newly discovered virus. The team has now received a $600,000 grant from The V Foundation for Cancer Research to investigate any link between the virus and prostate cancer – research that has the potential of leading to a new screening test for early detection of prostate cancer.
The three-year research project is one of only six out of a total of thirty-eight proposals to be selected by the foundation.
In February 2006, researchers reported the discovery of the novel XMRV virus in prostate tumors. The virus appeared almost exclusively in men who had two copies of mutant RNASEL, a viral defense gene previously implicated in the risk of prostate cancer. XMRV is closely related to known viruses named murine leukemia viruses that infect mice, and these were the first documented cases of human infection with this family of viruses.
The grant will support development of a blood test for XRMV antibodies to signal the presence of the virus and to determine the relationship between XMRV infections and prostate cancer.
The research team includes Robert Silverman, Ph.D., Lerner Research Institute’s Cancer Biology; Eric Klein, M.D., Cleveland Clinic’s Glickman Urological Institute; Philip Pellett, Ph.D., Lerner Research Institute’s Molecular Genetics; and Jaydip Das Gupta, Ph.D., the Lerner Research Institute’s Cancer Biology. Collaborating on the research are Robert Elston, Ph.D., Director of the Division of Genetic and Molecular Epidemiology at Case Western Reserve University and Co-Leader of the Cancer Genetics Program at the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center; and Peter Burbelo, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Oncology at the Lombardi Cancer Center at Georgetown University Medical Center.
“The discovery of XMRV in prostate cancer cases is an exciting discovery,” Dr. Silverman said. “The potential is for improved methods for diagnosis of prostate cancer. If a link between the virus and prostate cancer is established, these studies could lead to novel therapies or a vaccine for the prevention of prostate cancer.”
The late Jim Valvano and cable sports network ESPN created The V Foundation in 1993. Valvano was a well-known North Carolina State University basketball coach and ESPN broadcaster. Ten years after his team won the NCAA Basketball Championship in 1983, Valvano announced the creation of The V Foundation for Cancer Research. Since 1993, The V Foundation has raised more than $50 million and awarded research grants in 36 states and the District of Columbia.
Adapted from Lerner Research Institute Notations, October 2006, p.3.