Analysis of candidate genes within this region identified an anti-viral and anti-proliferative gene involved in the innate immune system, RNASEL. In addition to identifying germline mutations within this gene associated with prostate cancer risk, a common variant, R463Q, has been linked to increased susceptibility to a viral infection, namely Xenotropic MulV-related virus (XMRV), proposed to be involved in prostate cancer pathogenesis [12,13]. Here, RNASEL is linked to prostate cancer.