April 26, 2024

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New therapy may conquer cancer with herpes virus

New therapy may conquer cancer with herpes virus



 

New therapy may conquer cancer with herpes virus.

According to the British “Times” website reported on September 23, scientists are turning the herpes virus into a cancer nemesis.

A genetically modified herpes virus may offer hope to cancer patients who have exhausted all other options. Now, a construction worker is free of cancer.

He was in hospice and has since received the new treatment in London.

 

New therapy may conquer cancer with herpes virus

 

 

The cancer-killing virus fights advanced cancers in a series of attacks — first destroying their cells and then allowing the immune system to kick in, researchers say.

 

In a trial of 39 patients, 10 benefited. The researchers reported the trial at a cancer-related conference in Europe.

 

Among the beneficiaries was Krzysztof Wojkowski, 39, a construction worker from west London.

Wojkowski was first diagnosed with cancer in May 2017, and his salivary gland tumor has now disappeared.

At the time, doctors told him after multiple surgeries that there were no other treatments available.

 

In 2020, he joined the trial. He said: “I was in hospice and was in a very bad situation, so it was incredible to have the opportunity to be part of the trial at the Royal Marsden Hospital. It was my last hope.”

 

He said: “I got injections every two weeks for five weeks and it completely wiped out my cancer. It was a miracle, there are no other words to describe it. I have been able to get back to work and spending time with my family and now I can Do anything.”

 

The virus, called RP2, is a genetically modified herpes simplex virus made by Ripley Moon, which funded the research.

 

It is injected directly into the tumor. It multiplies inside cancer cells and then ruptures them from the inside.

It also blocks a protein called CTLA-4, which acts as a brake on the immune system. RP2 has also been engineered to produce special molecules that stimulate the immune system.

 

Patients enrolled in the trial had a variety of cancers, including skin, esophagus, and head and neck cancers. There are no other treatments available, not even modern immune checkpoint inhibitors.

 

Nine of them used RP2 alone, and 30 used a combination of RP2 and nivolumab, an immune drug.

 

Only three patients treated with the virus shrank their tumors. The three included Wojkowski, who has not had a recurrence of cancer after 15 months.

 

Of the 30 people who received the combination therapy, seven benefited. In six of them, the cancer had not progressed for 14 months.

 

Professor Kevin Harrington, from the Cancer Institute and the Royal Marsden NHS Trust, who led the study, said: “It is rare to see such a high response rate in an early stage clinical trial. The main purpose of this study is to test the safety of the treatment, and they include multiple patients with advanced cancer for whom existing treatments have not responded.”

 

“Our preliminary trial results suggest that a genetically modified herpes virus could be a new treatment option for some patients with advanced cancer, including those who do not respond to other forms of immunotherapy,” he said. “I’m eager to know, as we As more patients are treated, are we going to continue to see patient benefit.”

Most of the side effects reported by patients were mild, such as fever, chills and fatigue, and did not require medical intervention.

 

Professor Christian Herring, head of the Cancer Institute, said: “Viruses are one of humanity’s oldest enemies, as we have seen with the Covid-19 pandemic. But our new research shows that we can exploit some of their characteristics. , these characteristics make them challenging adversaries to infect and kill cancer cells. This is a small study, but preliminary results mean this therapy is promising. I very much hope that as this study expands , we will see continued benefits for patients.”

 

 

 

New therapy may conquer cancer with herpes virus

(source:internet, reference only)


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