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Review
. 2022 Jul 22:2022:3142306.
doi: 10.1155/2022/3142306. eCollection 2022.

Therapeutic Efficacy of Oncolytic Viruses in Fighting Cancer: Recent Advances and Perspective

Ghazal Asadi Garmaroudi  1 , Farzaneh Karimi  2 , Leila Ghanbari Naeini  3 , Pajman Kokabian  4 , Nozar Givtaj  5
Affiliations
Review

Therapeutic Efficacy of Oncolytic Viruses in Fighting Cancer: Recent Advances and Perspective

Ghazal Asadi Garmaroudi et al. Oxid Med Cell Longev. .

Abstract

Immunotherapy is at the cutting edge of modern cancer treatment. Innovative medicines have been developed with varying degrees of success that target all aspects of tumor biology: tumors, niches, and the immune system. Oncolytic viruses (OVs) are a novel and potentially immunotherapeutic approach for cancer treatment. OVs reproduce exclusively in cancer cells, causing the tumor mass to lyse. OVs can also activate the immune system in addition to their primary activity. Tumors create an immunosuppressive environment by suppressing the immune system's ability to respond to tumor cells. By injecting OVs into the tumor, the immune system is stimulated, allowing it to generate a robust and long-lasting response against the tumor. The essential biological properties of oncolytic viruses, as well as the underlying mechanisms that enable their usage as prospective anticancer medicines, are outlined in this review. We also discuss the increased efficacy of virotherapy when combined with other cancer medications.

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Conflict of interest statement

There is no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
OVs as cancer therapy. In order to limit their pathogenicity, viruses that enter human cells need to be genetically engineered to be suitable for oncolytic virotherapy.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The interaction between OVs and the immune system. OVs can only multiply in cancer cells and not in normal cells, causing the tumor mass to lyse. However, OVs can also upregulate the immune system.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The combination of OV therapy with other therapeutic approaches. The combination of OV therapy with molecular targeted therapy, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and CAR-T cell therapy could significantly enhance the treatment output and support the sensitivity of tumor cells to common therapeutic factors.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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