A new genetically-engineered virus has been developed to kill cancer tumors and prevent the growth of new ones, according to a study. It was tested in 30 terminally-ill liver cancer patients and proved to significantly prolong their lives.
The study, which was recently published in the journal Nature Medicine, describes a four-week trial of the vaccine Pexa-Vec or JX-594 marking a step forward towards a successful treatment of solid tumors, AFP reports.
Sixteen out of 30 patients who were given a high dosage of therapy lived for 14.1 months on average, while the other 14 patients were given a low dosage and survived for 6.7 months.
"For the first time in medical history we have shown that a genetically-engineered virus can improve survival of cancer patients," study co-author David Kirn from California-based biotherapy company Jennerex told AFP.
The results of the study indicate that "Pexa-Vec treatment at both doses resulted in a reduction of tumor size and decreased blood flow to tumors," Jennerex said in a statement. “This is the first randomized clinical trial of an oncolytic immunotherapy demonstrating significantly prolonged overall survival.”
The new treatment uses oncolytic immunotherapy, which is a genetically modified type of virus that attacks tumors to induce a systemic immune response to cancer. It selectively replicates in tumor cells to achieve an antitumor effect.
The new virus "is designed to multiply in and subsequently destroy cancer cells, while at the same time making the patients' own immune defense system attack cancer cells also," added Kirn.
This trial shows concrete progress and proves that “Pexa-Vec treatment induces an immune response against the tumor."
Source: http://rt.com/news/new-virus-battles-cancer-888/
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