HERPES VIRUS MOBILIZED TO BATTLE ORAL CANCER
HERPES VIRUS MOBILIZED TO BATTLE ORAL CANCER More than 100 years have passed since a leukemia patient became infected with an influenza virus and her cancer symptoms mysteriously improved, providing the first evidence a virus could function as an anticancer
HERPES VIRUS MOBILIZED TO BATTLE ORAL CANCER
More than 100 years have passed since a leukemia patient became infected with an influenza virus and her cancer symptoms mysteriously improved, providing the first evidence a virus could function as an anticancer agent. Science can now engineer and deliver viruses that break down and destroy cancer cells. Choosing the right virus to do the job, however, can be tricky: A virus must be able to destroy only cancer cells, while causing the mildest human diseases in its natural state.
The herpes simplex viruses (HSV) meet these requirements, and consequently have attracted interest from researchers developing treatment for oral, neck, and head cancer.
In a trial study conducted by the Institute of Cancer Research and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Great Britain, a combination of radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and injections of a genetically engineered HSV virus were tested on 17 patients. The virus was injected into lymph nodes affected by cancer, where scientists expected them to multiply in numbers great enough to burst and kill the tumor cells. The HSV microbes were also engineered to release proteins that would stimulate the test subjects’ immune systems.
Medical images taken in the study revealed tumors had shrunk in 14 of the 17 patients. Doctors performed surgery to remove the test subjects’ lymph nodes, and following treatment with the HSV virus no signs of cancer were observed in more than three-fourths of the patients. A follow-up at 2 years revealed more than three-fourths of the original study group had not succumbed to their cancers.
Dr. Nigel Carter, chief executive of the British Dental Health Foundation, called the study results, “very positive news,” while noting that oral cancer is affecting an increasing number of people. The foundation reports that within the next 10 years HPV may rival tobacco as a risk factor for the disease.
Sources: Emerging Cancer Therapy: Microbial Approaches and Biotechnological Tools. 2010; 141-178. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Hoboken, New Jersey, United States.
British Dental Health Foundation
