Cancer-Killing Virus Injected into First Human in Clinical Trial
We all know that cancer is tenacious and capable of surviving chemotherapy and radiation, especially in later stages
So, experts are exploring everything that could potentially destroy malignant growths
One being explored is viruses, and a recent development pushed an anticancer drug into clinical trials
Viruses are infamous because they can cause diseases
But those harmless to us are responsible for killing bacteria that could have eliminated humanity eons ago
In cancer research, oncolytic viruses have been an interest for years
According to the Cancer Research Institute, oncolytic viruses are a form of immunotherapy that uses viruses to infect and destroy cancer cells
They enter these cells and use their genetic machinery to make more copies and then spread to infect more similar cells
Like a virus that typically harms normal cells but is designed to ignore normal cells and seek tumors
The great caveat, however, is having that perfect match
A very specific virus must be an impeccable match to a very specific type of cancer
When these two meet, that cancer type will definitely face its doom
According to Medical News Today, Vaxinia or CF33-hNIS has started its Phase 1 clinical trial
A dose of this experimental anticancer drug is already given to the study's first participant
Don't be alarmed with the virus used, considering recent events, but it is a genetically modified smallpox virus
Yes, the smallpox virus, not monkeypox, was tweaked to only attack cancer cells
The drug was tested in animal models before the human trial
It was developed by researchers at the City of Hope
Besides attacking cancer cells, the modified virus also expresses the human sodium iodide symporter (hNIS) protein
This motivates the transport of iodide ions into the cancer cells and causes radioactive iodine to be taken greatly
Researchers can also use imaging techniques like PET scans to track down the distribution of the virus using radioactive iodine
That same radioactive material can help selective targeting of cancer cells via radiotherapy as well
"We are hoping the CF33/Vaxinia platform will move rapidly to clinical testing in combinations with these and become effective combination immunotherapies in the treatment of human cancer," Dr. Yuman Fong, the chair of the Department of Surgery at the City of Hope, told Medical News Today
Previous studies suggested that CF33-hNIS is effective against animal models of breast, colorectal, pancreatic, ovarian, and even lung cancers
Like other Phase 1 trials, the focus for this one is safety and tolerability in 100 study participants
The individuals must have metastatic or advanced solid tumors and already had at least two standard cancer treatments
What do you think of using an engineered virus to kill cancer?
Share your thoughts in the comment section
'Till our next video! Thanks for watching!