ENGINEERED HERPES VIRUS A NEW WEAPON AGAINST BREAST AND OVARIAN CANCER METASTATIS

ENGINEERED HERPES VIRUS A NEW WEAPON AGAINST BREAST AND OVARIAN CANCER METASTASES




A genetically modified Herpes Simplex Virus, the one most know as responsible for labial cold sores, seems to be effective in curing metastatic spreading of human cancer cells in the lab.  The report of this study published just last January, outlines the research from the University of Bologna, Italy, that describes how such conversion of the virus attacks cancer metastases in the breast and ovary tissues.

This treatment, unlike conventional treatment, would offer a significant difference in the resolution of cancer pathology, instead of just a temporary treatment, which may or may not be successful and which to date just aims at prolonging life in the cancer victim for  a short period of time.

Investigator Campanella Fiume reprogrammed the herpes virus to no longer infect human tissue; rather its modification renders it a weapon against tumor cells that express the HER-2 oncogene.

The research on the use of virus modification worldwide have been used against a narrow slice of the cancer pathologies, but the utmost care has been exercised in ensuring the modified virus is safe.

The modified virus enters the HER-2 positive cells, but are unable to infect other healthy cells, yet retains the killing capability of the original HSV type virus.

Such positive results in the laboratory makes the engineered Herpes Virus a very promising candidate for future cancer treatment, and represents a key step forward in the path to clinical trials for late stage cancers.

Adapted from an article on Science Daily 1.2.13

Source: Science Daily 1.2.13

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