“Makes the diseased cell kill itself” .. a revolutionary treatment for cancer
A new cancer treatment that uses a modified herpes virus to attack cancer cells has shown promising results in early clinical trials.
The drug, called "RP2", was able to completely defeat oral cancer in a 39-year-old patient.
Scientists in Britain used a laboratory-modified herpes virus to infiltrate a cancer cell and push it to kill itself, in “promising” preliminary results, according to researchers.
How does this technology work?
The patient told the BBC that he had salivary gland cancer, which continued to grow despite treatment attempts.
The data show that after a short period of time on the drug, the patient - Christoph Wojkowski from west London - has been cancer-free for two years and is still undergoing regular check-ups.
The experimental treatment, according to the German "Deutsche Villa" website, includes a weak modified virus from the herpes simplex virus, the virus that causes cold sores.
The virus was modified and attenuated in vitro to treat tumors only.
Through one or two doses, depending on the patient's condition, the virus infiltrates the cancer cell, which prompts the cancer cell to explode.
"The unique thing about RP2 is that it is directed against tumors, not only to destroy cells, but also to stimulate the immune system to attack the remaining cancerous tumors," lead researcher Kevin Harrington said in a press release.
The drug works similarly to T-Vec, a similar viral treatment approved for advanced skin cancer in 2015. T-Vec is also designed based on the herpes simplex virus.
Despite this promising result, the "Business Insider" website reports that medical reports indicate that a number of patients who were exposed to treatment did not experience noticeable changes and the disease did not disappear.
It appears that three out of nine patients given the experimental drug alone, and seven out of 30 who received a combination treatment with another drug, benefited from the experimental treatment.
That's why more research is needed to find out how RP2 compares to known treatments.
The drug seemed to help some patients and only caused mild side effects, such as fatigue.
These early results are promising, said Jonathan Zager of the Center for Cancer Research in the US state of Florida.
"We'll see more studies in the very near future, and I'm excited - certainly not disappointed or skeptical," said Zager, who was not involved in the experiment.
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