Tumour vasculature: Friend or foe of oncolytic viruses?

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Virology
• Immunology

Background:

• Oncolytic viruses (OVs) offer direct tumor cell killing and indirect anti-tumor immune responses.
• Substantial advances in understanding OV mechanisms have occurred over the past two decades.
• Tumor vasculature plays a dual role in OV therapy, impacting both tumor survival and therapeutic efficacy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review recent developments in targeting tumor vasculature for oncolytic virotherapy.
• To inform researchers on strategies to optimize OV-based therapies by modulating tumor vasculature.
• To explore the paradoxical approaches of shutting down versus normalizing tumor vasculature.

Main Methods:

• Review of recent scientific literature on oncolytic virotherapy and tumor vasculature.
• Analysis of therapeutic strategies targeting tumor neovasculature.
• Discussion of the implications of vascular collapse versus normalization for OV efficacy.

Main Results:

• Two divergent strategies exist for targeting tumor vasculature in OV therapy: vascular collapse and vascular normalization.
• Vascular collapse aims to starve tumors, inducing hypoxia and cytokine release.
• Vascular normalization aims to improve OV dissemination and immune cell infiltration.

Conclusions:

• The choice between vascular collapse and normalization strategies depends on the desired therapeutic outcome.
• Optimizing OV therapy requires careful consideration of the tumor microenvironment and vasculature.
• Further research is needed to determine the most effective vascular-targeting approach for different cancers.