Author: Shelby Peters Although most of us are familiar with viruses that cause disease, such as the common cold or HIV, recent research has shown that viruses can be used to treat cancer. These treatments utilize native and engineered oncolytic viruses to infect and destroy cancer cells as well as mark them as foreign, which allow our immune cells to detect and attack them. Because the viruses infect only the cancer cells, there’s minimal toxicity to normal tissues. In addition, scientists can easily manipulate the virus’ DNA to maximize their efficacy in cancer treatment. The most promising evidence of this treatment is the success of Talimogene laherparepvec (T-VEC), a modified herpes simplex virus, which has recently been approved by the FDA for treatment of advanced melanoma. In a clinical phase III trial, treatment with T-VEC was shown to be fairly effective and tolerated with mild side effects. Researchers are now exploring the combination of oncolytic viruses with other treatment types, such as chemotherapy, to further the efficacy of virus treatment. The use of chemotherapy may help overcome some of the barriers thought to limit oncolytic virus efficacy, such as large tumor, poor vasculature, and physical barriers. In one trial with combination therapy, more killer cells from the immune system infiltrated the tumors, and the cure rate was nearly 70% compared to 25% when chemotherapy or virus treatment are used separately. Because oncolytic virus treatment has mild side effects compared to those on chemotherapy, patients receiving combination therapy can expect to have side effects no harsher than those experienced from chemotherapy alone. As counterintuitive as it may sound, research suggests that curing cancer with viruses is quite possible. While this treatment is still fairly new and needs more research to improve it, we can expect to see oncolytic virus therapy become much more common in cancer treatment plans in the future. This new treatment may prove to be life-changing for thousands of cancer patients. Source: Simpson, G.R., Relph, K., Harrington, K., Melcher, A., & Pandha, H. (2016). Cancer immunotherapy via combining oncolytic virotherapy with chemotherapy: recent advances. Oncolytic Virotherapy, 5, 1-13. Doi:https://doi.org/10.2147/OV.S66083 |
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