Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2018 Apr;7(2):16.
doi: 10.21037/cco.2018.04.04.

The emerging role of oncolytic virus therapy against cancer

Luke Russell  1 , Kah-Whye Peng  2
Affiliations
Review

The emerging role of oncolytic virus therapy against cancer

Luke Russell et al. Chin Clin Oncol. 2018 Apr.

Abstract

This review discusses current clinical advancements in oncolytic viral therapy, with a focus on the viral platforms approved for clinical use and highlights the benefits each platform provides. Three oncolytic viruses (OVs), an echovirus, an adenovirus, and a herpes simplex-1 virus, have passed governmental regulatory approval in Latvia, China, and the USA and EU. Numerous other recombinant viruses from diverse families are in clinical testing in cancer patients and we highlight the design features of selected examples, including adenovirus, herpes simplex virus, measles virus, retrovirus, reovirus, vaccinia virus, vesicular stomatitis virus. Lastly, we provide thoughts on the path forward for this rapidly expanding field especially in combination with immune modulating drugs.

Keywords: Cancer; antitumor immunity; oncolytic; virus.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

References

    1. Morrissey KM, Yuraszeck TM, Li CC, et al. Immunotherapy and Novel Combinations in Oncology: Current Landscape, Challenges, and Opportunities. Clin Transl Sci 2016;9:89–104. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Brudno JN, Kochenderfer JN. Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapies for lymphoma. Nat Rev Clin Oncol 2018;15:31–46. - PubMed
    1. Patel SA, Minn AJ. Combination Cancer Therapy with Immune Checkpoint Blockade: Mechanisms and Strategies. Immunity 2018;48:417–33. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Antonia SJ, Larkin J, Ascierto PA. Immuno-oncology combinations: a review of clinical experience and future prospects. Clin Cancer Res 2014;20:6258–68. - PubMed
    1. Ribas A, Wolchok JD. Cancer immunotherapy using checkpoint blockade. Science 2018;359:1350–5. - PMC - PubMed