A new type of cancer therapy was made using a common virus that infects and harms tumors, showing big promise in early human trials. Futurism reports that scientists developed a drug from the genetically modified form of herpes simplex and created cutting-edge cancer therapy.
Experts caution that follow-up studies are needed to confirm the safety and effectiveness of the cancer-killing virus. But one patient was seemingly treated for cancer using the drug.
This scanning electron microscope image shows dendritic cells, pseudo-colored in green, interacting with T cells, pseudo-colored in pink.
Cancer Patient Treated After Using the Drug
Krzysztof Wojkowski was diagnosed with cancer of the salivary glands near the mouth in 2017. He underwent surgery and different treatments at the time but nothing seems to work as his cancer continued to grow.
The 39-year-old builder from west London became one of the patients who took part in the phase one safety trial of the cancer-killing virus by the Institute of Cancer Research and the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust.
"I was told there was no options left for me and I was receiving end-of-life care. It was devastating, so it was incredible to be given the chance to join the trial," he told BBC.
The virus therapy was a modified version of the herpes simplex virus that normally causes cold sores but the study shows it has cleared Wojkowski's cancer. The injections were administered directly to the tumor, attacking cancer by invading cancerous cells and bursting them, as well as activating the immune system.
There were 40 participants in the study who tried the cancer treatment as part of the trial. The injection called RP2 was given in two ways: either on its own or with another cancer drug called nivolumab. About three out of nine who received only RP2 had their tumors shrink while seven out of 30 participants who received both RP2 and nivolumab also benefited.
Project lead researcher Kevin Harrington told BBC that it is rare to see a positive response in the early stage of clinical trials, which tests the safety of the cancer treatment. They included patients with a severe form of cancer for whom current therapies have stopped working.
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Viruses Might Help Fight Cancer
Researchers presented their findings at the ESMO Congress, a medical conference in Paris, France. The findings suggest that the RP2 injection alone and RP2 injection with a cancer drug have benefits for cancer patients. There were also side effects, like tiredness, but were generally mild.
Harrington told BBC that the treatment responses were impressive across a range of advanced cancer. He is interested to see if there are more benefits if they have treated a larger number of patients.
This is not the first cancer-killing virus developed as the NHS has also approved a cold virus-based therapy called T-Vec for advanced skin cancer, BBC reported in 2015. Harrington calls RP2 a souped-up version of T-Vec with modifications to the virus that will get it into cancer cells more effectively.
Dr. Marianne Baker, from Cancer Research UK, commented that the encouraging findings could change the course of cancer treatment. Given that it is a small-scale trial, more research is needed to find out how well it works. Perhaps combining it with multiple treatments and virus therapies to create a toolkit that fights off cancer.
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