Posted on 07/09/2007 10:36:52 AM PDT by kellynla
A genetically engineered herpes virus, designed to kill cancer cells but leave normal tissue unharmed, has shown early promise in clinical tests, scientists said on Saturday.
The idea of injecting cancer patients with a live virus may seem bizarre, but researchers believe viruses — which are experts at killing cells — could one day become a valuable addition to the medical armory against cancer.
The latest progress in a small study using MediGene AG’s virus NV1020 was presented at the annual European Society for Medical Oncology conference in Lugano, Switzerland.
NV1020 is a modified version of the herpes simplex virus, which causes cold sores. Its genetic make-up has been altered that so it only replicates in cancer cells, killing them in the process, and leaves ordinary cells alone.
The German biotech company had already announced positive results from an interim analysis of a 13-patient Phase I/II study of NV1020 in September, but efficacy data from a case study was unveiled for the first time at the Swiss meeting.
Axel Mescheder, MediGene’s research head, described the case of one very late-stage patient whose cancer had spread to 10 different places around the liver and four in the lungs.
He was given four weekly infusions of the virus followed by two cycles of chemotherapy, and six months after treatment scans showed that his liver tumors had nearly disappeared. The patient survived for 12 months following the intervention.
"The reduction in the tumor masses was really impressive in this patient. The hepatic (liver) masses almost disappeared,” Mescheder said in a statement.
"The results are really quite encouraging at this early stage.”
Treating cancer in the liver is notoriously difficult, and the prognosis for patients is very poor. Many people with colorectal cancer, in particular, face the risk that their cancer will metastasize, or spread, to the liver.
The encouraging results with the virus in early human studies follow tests in animals, which showed that NV1020 was effective at killing colorectal and liver cancer cells.
© Reuters 2007. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters.
We can only hope & pray!!!
Battle of the network diseases... coming this fall.
I’ve lost two brothers & one sister to cancer.
I only hope there is something to this discovery!
Oh Dear God please help these researchers as they look for a cure of this awful disease. Amen
That's swell, but it's not a cure.
It's depressing how "great news" usually means they've increased survival by say, 20% of patients for only a month or two. A whole year must seem really great to doctors.
His liver tumors had nearly disappeared. Well, some other ones must not have. I wonder what actually killed him. Poor reporting.
Oh boy, another source of income for Bill Clinton.
Yesterday, there was the news that “fat kills cancer.” Turns out that fat CELLS (genetically tinkered with) can kill cancer cells. Rats.
I'd say this is a very important part to the story, but it seems so incomplete. What happened? Did the patient pass away? If so, due to what? Etc. etc.
One way not to tell your spouse: “Honey, bad news and good, I have cancer, but I just got herpes too!”
This seems to be a very important point. If one is very late stage, and survives for a year I think that shows great hope for treatment done earlier.
Paris will be so happy
Steve...ever day with a loved one counts. I went through this with my mom, and I would have given anything to have had her live just 12 more months. She would have seen the birth of my second daughter, and my first would have had another year with her Nana. Every day is a blessing.
Mom is in a better place...her faith sustained her through a truly gruesome final month. I thank God for the time I had with her, but I also pray that the scientis and doctors can continue to find ways to either cure cancer, or make it a more manageable/ cronic illness (more akin to diabetes) than the current death sentence that it is for so many people.
Off soap box now.
Well it looks like Paris Hilton won’t have to worry about getting cancer.
Ron Mexico, AKA Mike Vick has a leg up on the rest of us!!!
Well, I guess there’s no sense in funding research into curing herpes anymore. Man, won’t the herpes researchers be M-A-D!
But the main point is that we should all pray that this promising treatment works out!
“He was given four weekly infusions of the virus followed by two cycles of chemotherapy, and six months after treatment scans showed that his liver tumors had nearly disappeared. The patient survived for 12 months following the intervention.”
So what killed him 12 months later?
“So what killed him 12 months later?”
Probably some other disease because his system was so torn up from the Chemo.
Doctors remain the number one cause of accidental death in America don’t they?
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