A "cancer killer" virus being tested on a patient

Dn the context of this clinical trial, a volunteer with metastasized cancer resistant to previous treatment attempts has just been administered a “cancer killer” virus, or oncolytic for scientists (CF33-hNIS or Vaxinia), which is an orthopoxvirus, like that of monkeypox, modified in the laboratory to express a human gene which makes it possible to follow its replication in cells and to increase its anticancer properties, explain the initiators of this research.

This orthopoxvirus is able to infect and kill cancer cells while sparing healthy ones, they point out, noting that when the cancer cell dies, it releases viral particles that stimulate the immune system, including specialist T cells in the destruction of tumors, which then attack their neighbours. “Our previous research has shown that oncolytic viruses can stimulate the immune system to kill cancer and make it more responsive to other immunotherapies,” says Dareng Li, the principal investigator of this clinical trial. The clinical trial will test the safety and tolerance of CF33-hNIS alone or in combination with a therapeutic antibody, pembrolizumab, already authorized to treat several cancers. Secondly, the scientists will analyze the ability of the oncolytic virus to reduce the size of tumours.

The real effectiveness of this cancer treatment will only be estimated during the final phases of the clinical trial. The investigators hope to enroll a hundred volunteers, adults and suffering from any type of solid tumor, across the United States and Australia.