Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 26, 2026

Paramyxoviruses for Tumor-targeted Immunomodulation: Design and Evaluation Ex Vivo
12:42

Paramyxoviruses for Tumor-targeted Immunomodulation: Design and Evaluation Ex Vivo

Published on: January 7, 2019

10.3K

Oncolytic Viruses: Exploiting Cancer's Deal with the Devil

Larissa A Pikor1, John C Bell2, Jean-Simon Diallo1

  • 1Center for Innovative Cancer Therapeutics, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ONT, Canada.

Trends in Cancer
|July 26, 2017
PubMed

Insights

Cancer cells have genetic changes that help them grow but weaken their antiviral defenses. Oncolytic virotherapy uses viruses to kill cancer cells by exploiting these weakened defenses, offering a new cancer treatment approach.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Virology
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Tumor cells accumulate genetic and epigenetic alterations for growth and survival.
  • These alterations impair the tumor cell's intrinsic antiviral response.
  • Cancer cells exhibit uncontrolled proliferation, defective apoptosis, angiogenesis, immune evasion, and metastasis.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the alterations in cancer cell signaling pathways.
  • To understand how these pathways contribute to both malignancy and virus-mediated killing.
  • To explore the potential of oncolytic virotherapy.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing literature on cancer cell signaling pathways.
  • Analysis of the interplay between malignant phenotype and antiviral response.
  • Examination of the mechanisms of oncolytic viruses.

Main Results:

  • Cancer cell signaling pathways are dysregulated, conferring survival advantages.
  • Impaired antiviral responses in tumor cells create a vulnerability.
  • Oncolytic viruses selectively target and replicate within cancer cells.

Conclusions:

  • Oncolytic virotherapy leverages cancer-specific defects for targeted cell killing.
  • Understanding these pathways is crucial for optimizing virotherapy efficacy.
  • This approach offers a promising strategy in cancer treatment.
Keywords:
anti-viral responsehallmarks of cancerinterferononcolytic virusesvirotherapy

More Related Videos

Ex Vivo Infection of Live Tissue with Oncolytic Viruses12:08

Ex Vivo Infection of Live Tissue with Oncolytic Viruses

Published on: June 25, 2011

13.4K
Genome-wide RNAi Screening to Identify Host Factors That Modulate Oncolytic Virus Therapy08:51

Genome-wide RNAi Screening to Identify Host Factors That Modulate Oncolytic Virus Therapy

Published on: April 3, 2018

9.5K

Related Concept Videos

Mechanisms of Retrovirus-induced Cancers01:51

Mechanisms of Retrovirus-induced Cancers

Retroviruses are RNA viruses that have been shown to cause cancers in diverse species, including chickens, mice, cats, and monkeys. The RNA genomes of these viruses are first reverse-transcribed into single and then double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) copies. This dsDNA called proviral DNA then integrates into the host genome. Subsequently, the host cell transcribes the proviral DNA in concert with the chromosomal DNA. This leads to the production of viral RNA and proteins that assemble at the host...
7.1K
Rous Sarcoma Virus (RSV) and Cancer01:03

Rous Sarcoma Virus (RSV) and Cancer

Rous Sarcoma virus or RSV was discovered by F. Peyton Rous in the year 1911 as a filterable transmissible agent that could cause tumors in chickens. He won a Nobel Prize for this discovery in 1966. His experiments clearly demonstrated that some cancers could be caused by infectious agents and led to the discovery of many more cancer-causing viruses in animals as well as humans.
RSV is a retrovirus that contains two copies of a plus-strand  RNA genome. Its genome consists of four main open...
6.5K
Tumor Immunotherapy01:27

Tumor Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy is a treatment that boosts or manipulates the immune system to fight diseases, including cancer. For instance, by stimulating an immune response through vaccinations against viruses that cause cancers, like hepatitis B virus and human papillomavirus, these diseases can be prevented. Nonetheless, some cancer cells can avoid the immune system due to their rapid mutation and division. The immune response to many cancers involves three phases: elimination, equilibrium, and escape.
2.1K
Cancer Therapies02:49

Cancer Therapies

Cancer therapies are various modes of treatment, such as surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy that are administered to cancer patients.
However, cancer treatments can pose several challenges, as therapies used to kill cancer cells are generally also toxic to normal cells. Moreover, cancer cells mutate rapidly and can develop resistance to chemical agents or radiation therapy. Besides, all types of cancer cells may not respond to the same therapy. Some cancer cells respond to one...
10.3K
Cancer Vaccines01:30

Cancer Vaccines

Cancer treatment vaccines are a rapidly evolving field that offers a promising approach to immunotherapy. Unlike traditional vaccines that prevent diseases, cancer treatment vaccines are designed to treat existing cancers by stimulating the immune system to recognize and attack cancer cells.
Cancer vaccines come in two categories: preventive (prophylactic) and treatment (active). Preventive vaccines, such as the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, protect against viruses that cause certain...
1.2K
Adaptive Mechanisms in Cancer Cells02:53

Adaptive Mechanisms in Cancer Cells

Cancer cells accumulate genetic changes at an abnormally rapid rate due to the defects in the DNA repair mechanisms. From an evolutionary perspective, such genetic instability is advantageous for cancer development. Mutant cell lines accumulate a series of beneficial mutations that contribute to their progression into cancer.
Some of the advantages that cancer cells have on normal cells include - enhanced ability to divide without terminally differentiating, induce new blood vessel formation,...
7.2K