- BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (UPI) --
A common human virus might have some role in the development of colon cancer,
according to a new, small study released Thursday.
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- Preliminary findings from researched conducted at the
University of Alabama in Birmingham suggest the cytomegalovirus, or CMV,
a widespread organism particularly dangerous to people with weakened immune
systems, could be associated with the cellular breakdown that leads to
colon cancer.
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- "This virus is strongly associated with malignant
brain tumors," lead researcher Dr. Charles S. Cobbs, also a neurosurgeon
with the Birmingham VA Medical Center, told United Press International.
"The more I learned about virus, the more I realized it had many properties
important for cancer in general."
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- As described in the Nov. 16 issue of the British journal,
The Lancet, Cobbs and his team took colorectal polyps, tumors and surrounding
healthy cells from 29 patients. They found proteins from the cytomegalovirus
in approximately 80 percent of the polyps and in about 85 percent of the
colon cancer samples.
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- "I'm not trying to say this virus is causal in colon
cancer," Cobbs said. "I've just made a preliminary observation
... whether or not it's influencing the cancer remains to be determined."
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- The virus might be inducing unwanted cell behavior that
could lead later to uncontrollable cell growth or cancer, Cobbs explained,
but more study is needed to confirm these findings.
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- Cytomegalovirus resides in about 50 to 80 percent of
the U.S. population, Cobbs said, and age and socioeconomic status are risk
factors. The virus also can cause ulcers, he explained. It is a relative
of the herpes virus and, like herpes or chicken pox, when an individual
contracts it, the virus cannot be eradicated. It can lie dormant in a person
for years or even decades and not cause any harm.
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- In people with compromised immune systems, however, such
as AIDS or chemotherapy patients, the virus can wreak havoc on the gastrointestinal
tract, the eyes, and the brain, Cobbs said.
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- Although the virus is common, Cobbs said people should
not be worried about getting cancer from it.
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- "There's probably at least 15 coincidental things
that all have to occur at once" involving this virus before cancer
develops, he said.
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- Viruses have been implicated in cancers before, but Dr.
Gerard Blobe, an assistant professor of medicine in pharmacology and cancer
biology at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C., said previous
studies on the cytomegalovirus have been mixed or inconclusive.
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- "It would be a little surprising" if these
findings proved to be true, he told UPI. "They've certainly been looking
for causes of colon cancer. It is surprising just because it goes in contrast
in what other investigators have shown, but have not really reported."
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- In fact, Blobe said of the herpes virus family, cytomegalovirus
is thought to be one that does not influence cancer.
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- "I think this study would need to be investigated
in larger population of individuals before we truly believe this is a cause
for colon cancer," he said.
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