Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 7, 2025

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

9.6K

The role of viruses in cancer development versus cancer therapy: An oncological perspective

Hossein Javid1,2,3, Alireza Sharbaf Mashhad3,4, Shaghayegh Yazdani3,4,5

  • 1Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.

Cancer Medicine
|March 7, 2023
PubMed

Insights

Virotherapy utilizes oncolytic viruses to selectively target and destroy cancer cells, offering a promising new avenue for cancer treatment. This approach can be used alone or combined with other therapies to enhance efficacy and reduce side effects.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Virology
  • Immunotherapy

Background:

  • Conventional cancer therapies face limitations, driving the search for novel therapeutic strategies.
  • Virotherapy, using oncolytic viruses, is an emerging approach with significant potential in cancer treatment.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the potential of virotherapy as a novel therapeutic approach in oncology.
  • To highlight the mechanisms of action and combination therapy potential of virotherapy agents.

Main Methods:

  • Utilizing live or genetically engineered oncolytic viruses to selectively infect and lyse tumor cells.
  • Employing viruses as vectors for targeted delivery of genes, therapeutic agents, and immune stimulants.
  • Investigating the synergistic effects of virotherapy in combination with conventional treatments and other modulators.

Main Results:

  • Oncolytic viruses demonstrate direct antitumor activity by replicating within and destroying cancer cells.
  • Virotherapy stimulates the host's antitumor immune response, contributing to anticancer effects.
  • Combination therapies involving virotherapy show promising outcomes with reduced adverse effects and no cross-resistance.

Conclusions:

  • Virotherapy represents a novel and promising therapeutic strategy for cancer treatment, both as monotherapy and in combination regimens.
  • The ability to combine virotherapy with existing treatments expands therapeutic options and potentially improves patient outcomes.
Keywords:
carcinogenoncolytic virusestreatmentvirotherapy

More Related Videos

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

9.1K
Ex Vivo Infection of Live Tissue with Oncolytic Viruses12:08

Ex Vivo Infection of Live Tissue with Oncolytic Viruses

Published on: June 25, 2011

12.7K

Related Concept Videos

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...
7.9K
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...
463
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...
5.2K
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.
606
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...
5.2K
Cancer02:18

Cancer

Cancers arise due to mutations in genes involved in the regulation of cell division, which leads to unrestricted cell proliferation. Modern science and medicine have made great strides in the understanding and treatment of cancer, including eradicating cancer in some patients. However, there is still no cure for cancer. This is largely due to the fact that cancer is a large group of many diseases.
49.0K