Cancer-Fighting Viruses
In September, scientists revealed the results of a Phase I clinical trial that could be a preview for a new avenue of cancer treatment—one that relies on recruiting viruses to fight on our behalf.
The treatment is called RP2, and it’s a genetically engineered strain of herpes simplex 1, the virus responsible for most cases of oral herpes in humans. Developed by company Replimune, RP2 is meant to both selectively kill cancer cells and boost the immune system’s ability to target and neutralize the cancer. Out of 39 patients with advanced cancer given RP2, either alone or in combination with an immunotherapy treatment, 10 patients appeared to respond to it, meaning their cancers stopped growing or shrank, while one patient even seemed to experience a complete remission that has lasted for at least 15 months.
Phase I trials are only the beginning of showing that a drug can work in people, and it will take studying many more patients to confirm whether RP2 can be an effective cancer treatment. But there are similar drugs in development, so it may only be a matter of time before doctors will be able to adopt this new strategy of treating cancer.
