December 23, 2014

Armed virus shows promise as treatment for pancreatic cancer




A new combination of two different approaches – virotherapy and immunotherapy - is showing “great promise” as a treatment for pancreatic cancer, according to new research from QMUL.

The study, funded by the UK charity Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund, investigated whether the effectiveness of the Vaccinia oncolytic virus – a virus modified to selectively infect and kill cancer cells - as a treatment for pancreatic cancer, would be improved by arming it with a gene which modulates the body’s immune system.