- Par Michelle Roberts
- Digital Health Editor, BBC
Photo credit, Getty Images
A new type of cancer therapy using a common virus to infect and destroy harmful cells is showing great promise in first-in-human trials, say scientists in the UK.
One patient’s cancer disappeared, while others saw their tumors shrink.
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The drug is a weakened form of the herpes simplex virus, which has been modified to kill tumors.
Further and longer studies will be needed but experts say the injection might ultimately offer a lifeline to more people with advanced cancers.
Photo credit, Krzysztof Wojkowski
Krzysztof’s cancer is no longer detectable.
Krzysztof Wojkowski, a 39-year-old bricklayer living in London, is one of the patients who took part in the ongoing Phase 1 safety trial, run by the Cancer Research Institute and the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust .
He was diagnosed in 2017 with cancer of the salivary glands, near his mouth. Despite surgery and other treatments at the time, her cancer continued to grow.
“I was told there was no choice for me and I was receiving end-of-life care. It was devastating, so it was amazing to have the chance to take part in the trial” , he recalls.
A short course of virotherapy – a specially modified version of the herpes virus that normally causes cold sores – appears to have eliminated his cancer.
“I had injections every two weeks for five weeks. They completely eradicated my cancer. I’ve been cancer-free for two years now,” says Krzysztof Wojkowski.
The injections, given directly into the tumour, attack the cancer in two ways – by invading the cancer cells and causing them to burst, and by activating the immune system.
About 40 patients have tried the treatment in the trial.
Some received the virus injection called RP2, alone. Others also received another cancer drug called nivolumab.
The results, presented at a medical conference in Paris, France, show that:
- seven of the 30 patients who received a combination treatment also received this treatment;
- side effects, such as fatigue, were generally mild;
- Three of the nine patients who received only RP2, including Krzysztof, saw their tumor shrink.
Lead researcher Professor Kevin Harrington told the BBC the treatment responses seen were “truly impressive” for a range of advanced cancers, including esophageal cancer and a rare type of eye cancer.
“It is rare to see such good response rates in early-stage clinical trials because their primary purpose is to test the safety of the treatment, and they involve patients with very advanced cancers, for which current treatments have stopped working,” he said.
“I’m excited to see if we continue to see benefits as we treat increasing numbers of patients,” Harrington said.
This is not the first time that scientists have used a virus to fight cancer.
A few years ago, the NHS approved a cold virus therapy, called T-Vec, for the treatment of advanced skin cancer.
For Professor Harrington, RP2 is an improved version of T-Vec.
“Other modifications have been made to the virus so that when it enters cancer cells, it effectively signs their death warrant,” he explains.
Dr Marianne Baker, of Cancer Research UK, said these encouraging results might change the course of cancer treatment.
“Scientists discovered that viruses might help treat cancer a hundred years ago, but harnessing them safely and effectively has been difficult. This new viral therapy has shown promise, as part of a small-scale early trial – we now need further studies to determine its effectiveness,” said Marianne Baker.
“Research suggests that combining multiple treatments is a powerful strategy, and viral therapies like this might be part of our toolkit for beating cancer.”
