http://www.welt.de/gesundheit/article135950203/Ist-Krebs-die-beste-Art-zu-sterben.html
Most of the
herpesviruses we’ve talked about cause apparent skin pathologies. But in a
recent study, Virotherapy, the selective use of genetically engineered viruses
to treat disease, successfully treated aggressive melanoma. The virus that the
study employed was a modified version of herpes simplex virus type 1. The
therapeutic strain, named T-VEC, was developed back in 2006 through the
deletion of 2 nonessential viral genes. The first is herpes virus neurovirulence
factor gene (ICP34.5); this deletion attenuates the virus, and causes it to
infect tumor cells more easily. The second is ICP47, a gene that suppresses
host cell antigen presentation (i.e. so the patient’s immune system can better
target the cancer cells). T-VEC also has a human gene called granulocyte
macrophage colony-stimulating factor. In other words, this gene’s product
recruits and stimulates macrophages, which are antigen-presenting cells.
The study
injected the mutant into stage III and IV melanoma patients as part of a stage
3 clinical trial. The average survival time of the patients who received the
virotherapy was 41 months, as compared to 21.5 months for the control group.
These findings could be key in the development of an effective anti-melanoma
therapy. In 2011, 65,647 people were diagnosed with melanoma in the United
States, of which 9,128 died (13% case fatality!). Melanoma deaths cause about $3.5
billion of lost productivity in the United States alone every year. These
results are exciting, but of course, an actual drug may still be a ways off.
However, virotherapy is expandable to other types of cancers too, so it could
be a useful addition to the current arsenal of cancer therapies.
--Joe
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