A Virus That Can Kill Cancer?

[LostAngeles]

Now this, this is pretty cool. I'd like to see them get some kind of cancer therapy out of this at the least. The story also states that they're looking at AAV-2 for gene therapy.

...
"Our results suggest that adeno-associated virus type 2, which infects the majority of the population but has no known ill effects, kills multiple types of cancer cells yet has no effect on healthy cells," said Craig Meyers, a professor of microbiology and immunology at the Penn State College of Medicine in Pennsylvania.

"We believe that AAV-2 recognizes that the cancer cells are abnormal and destroys them. This suggests that AAV-2 has great potential to be developed as an anti-cancer agent," Meyers said in a statement.

He said at a meeting of the American Society for Virology that studies have shown women infected with AAV-2 who are also infected with a cancer-causing wart virus called HPV develop cervical cancer less frequently than uninfected women do.

...

For their study, Meyers and colleagues first infected a batch of human cells with HPV, some strains of which cause cervical cancer. They then infected these cells and normal cells with AAV-2.

After six days, all the HPV-infected cells died.

The same thing happened with cervical, breast, prostate and squamous cell tumor cells.

All are cancers of the epithelial cells, which include skin cells and other cells that line the insides and outsides of organs.

...

 

[Dr. Imago]

They have been trying to use adenoviruses to cause an "anti-cancer infection" for years with varying degrees of success. The main problem inherent to this technology is that the immune system recognizes and attacks the adenovirus vector, thus destroying the anti-cancer effect before it has a chance to effectively reach and kill the tumor cells. So, when it comes to actually trying to apply this technology in the clinic, it has overall been woefully disappointing.

Perhaps this new direction may prove to be more promising.

-TT

 

[casebro]

It sure would answer a lot to the WooWoo spontaneous remissions, wouldn't it? You mean it wasn't the Laetrile, or the coffe enemas that cured my cancer? Nor the beeswax candles, afterall ?

 

[Roadtoad]

For God's sake, let's quit wasting money on some of the BS projects Congress launches to bring in the votes, and start putting money into something that can WORK.

 

[Capsid]

There are oncolytic viruses too and clinical trials have been conducted by Biovex. Looks promising.