Washington, July 31 - A virus discovered last year in a rare form of skin cancer has also been found among those affected with the second most common form of skin cancer, indicating that it might be more prevalent than earlier thought.

'Originally it was thought that this virus caused only this rare skin cancer, but our findings indicate that it is a lot more prevalent than we initially thought,' said principal investigator Amanda E. Toland, assistant professor of molecular virology, immunology and medical genetics at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Centre (OSU-3C).

'If it proves to be a cancer-causing virus, and if it proves to be common in the general population, it might be something we should begin screening people for,' Toland said.