Researchers at the University of Tokyo, who developed the drug, held a press conference after the approval of the first drug in Japan that attacks cancer cells by administering a special virus to patients with malignant brain tumors for a limited time, and further research He said that if it progresses, it can be expected to be applied to other cancers.
The interview was held by Professor Todo Tokinori of the Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo.
This drug attacks cancer cells using a special herpesvirus that is made to grow only in cancer cells by genetic engineering technology, and has a certain effect on malignant brain tumors called gliomas. Last month, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare decided to approve it for a limited time, saying that it was recognized as having sex.
At the press conference, Professor Todo said that clinical trial data for this drug show that if a highly malignant brain tumor recurs after standard treatment such as surgery, the survival rate after one year is about 15%, whereas this drug I introduced that the survival rate after 1 year was 92.3% for those who used.
And, about the fact that it will be the first approval in Japan as a "virus therapy" drug that treats with a virus, "In a case that is unprecedented for both the pharmaceutical company and the government that reviews the drug, we will work together. I opened up the virus. "
In addition, Professor Todo said that this treatment method can be expected to be effective for many other cancers if research progresses in the future. I want to stack up. "