Viruses are being developed to localise only in the tumour cells and kill those.
Cancer-fighting virus shown to target tumors alone
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Researchers have shown for the first time that a single intravenous infusion of a genetically engineered virus can home in on cancer, killing tumor cells in patients without harming healthy tissue.
The field received a boost in January when biotech giant Amgen Inc agreed to pay up to $1 billion for BioVex, the developer of experimental cancer-fighting virus OncoVex. But the only “oncolytic virus” so far approved by a regulatory agency is for treatment of head and neck cancer in China.
He also said that because the Jennerex virus can be given intravenously, spreading throughout the body, it may hold promise for limiting the ability of cancer cells to metastasize and spread.
Other viral cancer therapies are also progressing in clinical trials, but they either require direct injection into the tumor or accompany chemotherapy. Results from a Phase 3 melanoma trial of Amgen’s OncoVex, which is directly injected into tumors, are expected next year.
Oncolytics Biotech Inc is conducting a pivotal trial of its experimental virus, Reolysin, in combination with chemotherapy for patients with head and neck cancer.
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- Cancer-fighting virus shown to target tumors alone (reuters.com)
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