Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Previously unknown virus causes skin cancer!?

A married physician duo, Dr. Patrick S. Moore and Dr. Yuan Chang (both of whom are credited with the discovery of HHV-8) are claiming that Merkel cell polyoma virus, which was previously unknown, is the proverbial smoking gun that behind Merkel cell carcinoma.
Merkel cell carcinoma, which occurs most frequently on the head, the neck, and the face, is a rare disease - the incidence in the United States is roughly 1,200 cases per year - though these rates have tripled over the period from 1986 to 2001. They are claiming that the new polyoma virus is the 7th virus to be causally linked to human cancer. To learn more about this new development, follow this link: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/18/health/research/18virus.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=virus&st=nyt&oref=slogin

-katie

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