US researchers inject virus into humans to kill cancer cells

The man-made virus that has the ability to fight cancer has proven effective in preclinical experiments on animals as well as in the laboratory. Recently, a team of experts from City of Hope Hospital in Los Angeles, California, one of the largest cancer research centers in the US, injected the first patient with the CF33-hNIS virus, and called Warsaw. This treatment has been shown to work in animals and laboratory settings, but this is the first time that Vacina has been tested in humans.

The researchers explain that Vacina is an oncolytic virus, a genetically modified version of a natural virus, created to infect, replicate, and destroy cancer cells. With the previously tested method of using viruses to attack cancer cells, patients often relapse and are at increased risk of treatment resistance. However, Vacina works by encouraging the body's natural immune system to attack diseased cells, thereby increasing the effectiveness of tumor killing and preventing recurrence.

In preclinical and animal experiments, Vacina has been shown to help reduce tumors of colon, lung, breast, ovarian and pancreatic cancers. In addition, Vacina has been shown to increase the effectiveness of other forms of immunotherapy, such as inhibitors.

"What's interesting is that the properties that can make cancer cells resistant to chemotherapy or radiation actually improve the chances of success," said Yuman Fong, one of the developers of the genetically engineered virus. oncolytic viruses, including CF33-hNIS'. The team hopes to harness the potential of virology and immunotherapy to find treatments for a variety of deadly cancers.

The first study will focus on a small group of patients who have undergone two traditional treatments. They will be given a very small dose of Vaccine to prove its safety. Patients who have not had radiation therapy receive a dose of Vacina along with a engineered antibody called pembrolizumab. The virus will be injected directly into the tumor or injected into a vein.

It is known that experts are planning to open 9 more experimental treatment points to serve about 100 patients across the US and Australia in 2022. As expected, this study will last for about 24 months.