A Common Virus may Have the Ability to Kill Cancer

A common virus, capable of causing cough and mild diarrhea, seems to show promise in the treatment of cancer.

By the age of five, most people have been exposed to the virus, called reovirus. For some, it can trigger brief episodes of coughing or diarrhea while many other don't develop any symptoms. The body simply overpowers the virus. But what scientists have discovered is that the virus grows like gangbusters inside tumor cells with a specific malfunction that leads to tumor growth. That finding led researchers to ask: Is it possible to use the virus as a treatment?

About Cancer in Women
Cancer is one of the frequently talked about and most feared disease that falls under the genre of lifestyle diseases that have evolved, rather rapidly, in the past two decades.

At Lombardi, researchers are collaborating with other institutions to look for an answer by conducting a phase II clinical trial for people with advanced or recurrent non-small cell lung cancer with a specific tumor profile.

"With reovirus, we're able to accentuate the positive and attenuate the negative," says the study's lead investigator at Lombardi, Deepa Subramaniam, MD, interim-chief of the Thoracic Medical Oncology Program. In other words, researchers have genetically altered the virus so that it won't replicate in a healthy cell (attenuated), which is what makes a person sick. "What's left is a virus in search of a host, and reovirus loves the environment inside a specific kind of cancer cell," explains Subramaniam.

That specific kind of cancer cell is one with malfunctioning machinery called KRAS or EGFR mutation.

Pancreatic Cancer - All About the Disease, its Diagnosis and Management
Pancreatic cancer often involves its exocrine part. It grows aggressively, and often detected late. Treatment options include surgery, radiation and chemotherapy.

"These mutations leave the cancer vulnerable to a viral take-over. Once it's in, the reovirus exploits the cell's machinery to drive its own replication. As a result, the cell is filled with virus particles causing it to literally explode."

Volunteers in the clinical trial will receive reovirus (REOLYSIN®) in addition to paclitaxel and carboplatin. The physicians will watch to see if the cancer shrinks while also seeing if this combination of drugs causes serious side effects.

Oral Cancer | Mouth Cancer - Types, Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment & Prevention
Oral cancer is a cancer that develops in any part of the mouth. It is more common in men over 40.

"This is a subset of cancer where we haven't had many successes in terms of finding drugs that extend life after diagnosis," says Subramaniam. "This trial represents an attempt to seek and destroy cancer by choosing a treatment based on specific tumor characteristics. Preliminary data from the study should come quickly."

Researchers are also studying the effect of reovirus in other cancer types.

Testicular Cancer - Risk Factors - Symptoms - Diagnosis - Staging - Treatment - Prognosis
A person with testicular cancer may have a testicle that is three times its original size. The most cited risk factor is undescended testes.

Source-Eurekalert