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Virotherapy in Germany-Recent Activities in Virus Engineering, Preclinical Development, and Clinical Studies

Dirk M Nettelbeck1, Mathias F Leber1,2, Jennifer Altomonte3

  • 1Clinical Cooperation Unit Virotherapy, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.

Viruses
|August 28, 2021
PubMed

Insights

Virotherapy uses oncolytic viruses to kill cancer cells directly and stimulate anti-tumor immunity. German researchers are advancing these engineered viruses from preclinical studies to clinical trials for cancer treatment.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Virology
  • Gene Therapy

Background:

  • Virotherapy utilizes oncolytic viruses for direct cancer cell lysis (oncolysis) and to induce anti-tumor immune responses.
  • Viruses can be engineered to deliver therapeutic proteins, enhancing direct or indirect cancer cell killing.
  • This review highlights German research in virotherapy, from virus screening and engineering to clinical translation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To provide an overview of recent research activities in virotherapy by the German scientific community.
  • To detail advancements in engineering oncolytic viruses for improved safety, targeting, replication, and immune activation.
  • To summarize ongoing clinical trials and future directions for virotherapeutics in oncology.

Main Methods:

  • Screening and engineering of diverse viral platforms (e.g., parvovirus, vaccinia, herpes, measles).
  • Preclinical investigations focusing on enhanced safety, targeted delivery, selective replication, and immune modulation.
  • Clinical translation through investigator-initiated and sponsored multi-center trials.

Main Results:

  • Multiple viral platforms are being explored and engineered for enhanced oncolytic efficacy and safety.
  • Clinical trials are evaluating the safety and potency of various oncolytic viruses, including those encoding therapeutic proteins.
  • Combination therapies involving oncolytic viruses and immune checkpoint inhibitors are under investigation.

Conclusions:

  • German researchers are making significant progress in developing oncolytic viruses as cancer therapeutics.
  • Engineering efforts are focused on optimizing viral platforms for better cancer targeting and immune stimulation.
  • The field is advancing towards the clinical implementation of effective virotherapies for cancer treatment.
Keywords:
clinical trialscombination therapyimmunotherapyoncolytic virusresearch in Germanytherapeutic transgenevirotherapyvirus engineeringvirus targeting

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