Herpes virus used to treat cancer
Doctors have successfully used a genetically modified strand of the herpes virus to treat cases of mouth, head and neck cancer.
The virus, which is commonly associated with cold sores, was genetically modified by scientists so that it would multiply inside cancerous cells and remain the same in healthy cells. The cold sore virus (known as Onco vex) would burst once it had multiplied in the cancerous cells, causing the tumour cells to be killed; a protein would also be released, which would stimulate the immune system.
At trials run by the Institute of Cancer Research and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, 17 patients were injected by the modified virus. The injection was inserted into affected lymph nodes and up to four doses were given. The results showed that 14 of the patients had tumour shrinkage and over 75 percent of patients showed no trace of cancer in the lymph nodes when they were removed surgically after the trial. Two years later, the patients were examined again and over 75 percent of them had not been affected by the disease since the trial.
Dr Kevin Harrington, the principle investigator, said that the results were very positive and compared favourably to current treatments, including chemotherapy. However, he said that the study was only very small so the results should be approached with an air of caution. He hopes to conduct more research in the area in the near future. Dr Nigel Carter, of the British Dental Health Foundation, said that the results were very positive.
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