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"ANTI-CANCER VIRUS" SHOWS PROMISE
Lragir.am News
http://www.lragir.am/engsrc/society23184.html
15:24:48 - 01/09/2011
BBC: An engineered virus, injected into the blood, can selectively
target cancer cells throughout the body in what researchers have
labelled a medical first.
The virus attacked only tumours, leaving the healthy tissue alone,
in a small trial on 23 patients, according to the journal Nature.
Researchers said the findings could one day 'truly transform'
therapies. Cancer specialists said using viruses showed 'real promise'.
Using viruses to attack cancers is not a new concept, but they have
needed to be injected directly into tumours in order to evade the
immune system.
Scientists modified the vaccinia virus, which is more famous for
being used to develop a smallpox vaccine.
The virus, named JX-594, is dependent upon a chemical pathway, common
in some cancers, in order to replicate.
It was injected at different doses into the blood of 23 patients with
cancers which had spread to multiple organs in the body.
In the eight patients receiving the highest dose, seven had the virus
replicating in their tumours, but not in healthy tissue.
Prof John Bell, lead researcher and from the University of Ottawa,
said: 'We are very excited because this is the first time in medical
history that a viral therapy has been shown to consistently and
selectively replicate in cancer tissue after intravenous infusion
in humans.
'Intravenous delivery is crucial for cancer treatment because it
allows us to target tumours throughout the body as opposed to just
those that we can directly inject.'
Infection prevented further tumour growth in six patients for a time.
However, the virus did not cure cancer. Patients were given only one
dose of the virus as the trial was designed to test the safety of
the virus.
It is thought that the virus could be used to deliver treatments
directly to cancerous cells in high concentrations.
Prof Bell acknowledges that the research is still in the very early
stages, but he said: 'I believe that some day, viruses and other
biological therapies could truly transform our approach for treating
cancer.'
Cancer Research UK's Prof Nick Lemoine, also director of Barts Cancer
Institute, said: 'Viruses that multiply in just tumour cells - avoiding
healthy cells - are showing real promise as a new biological approach
to target hard-to-treat cancers.
'This new study is important because it shows that a virus previously
used safely to vaccinate against smallpox in millions of people can
now be modified to reach cancers through the bloodstream - even after
cancer has spread widely through the patient's body.
'It is particularly encouraging that responses were seen even in
tumours like mesothelioma, a cancer which can be particularly hard
to treat.'
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Lragir.am News
http://www.lragir.am/engsrc/society23184.html
15:24:48 - 01/09/2011
BBC: An engineered virus, injected into the blood, can selectively
target cancer cells throughout the body in what researchers have
labelled a medical first.
The virus attacked only tumours, leaving the healthy tissue alone,
in a small trial on 23 patients, according to the journal Nature.
Researchers said the findings could one day 'truly transform'
therapies. Cancer specialists said using viruses showed 'real promise'.
Using viruses to attack cancers is not a new concept, but they have
needed to be injected directly into tumours in order to evade the
immune system.
Scientists modified the vaccinia virus, which is more famous for
being used to develop a smallpox vaccine.
The virus, named JX-594, is dependent upon a chemical pathway, common
in some cancers, in order to replicate.
It was injected at different doses into the blood of 23 patients with
cancers which had spread to multiple organs in the body.
In the eight patients receiving the highest dose, seven had the virus
replicating in their tumours, but not in healthy tissue.
Prof John Bell, lead researcher and from the University of Ottawa,
said: 'We are very excited because this is the first time in medical
history that a viral therapy has been shown to consistently and
selectively replicate in cancer tissue after intravenous infusion
in humans.
'Intravenous delivery is crucial for cancer treatment because it
allows us to target tumours throughout the body as opposed to just
those that we can directly inject.'
Infection prevented further tumour growth in six patients for a time.
However, the virus did not cure cancer. Patients were given only one
dose of the virus as the trial was designed to test the safety of
the virus.
It is thought that the virus could be used to deliver treatments
directly to cancerous cells in high concentrations.
Prof Bell acknowledges that the research is still in the very early
stages, but he said: 'I believe that some day, viruses and other
biological therapies could truly transform our approach for treating
cancer.'
Cancer Research UK's Prof Nick Lemoine, also director of Barts Cancer
Institute, said: 'Viruses that multiply in just tumour cells - avoiding
healthy cells - are showing real promise as a new biological approach
to target hard-to-treat cancers.
'This new study is important because it shows that a virus previously
used safely to vaccinate against smallpox in millions of people can
now be modified to reach cancers through the bloodstream - even after
cancer has spread widely through the patient's body.
'It is particularly encouraging that responses were seen even in
tumours like mesothelioma, a cancer which can be particularly hard
to treat.'
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress