Additional Uses for Adenovirus

Retinoblastoma is a childhood eye cancer that can be fatal if untreated, while chemotherapy treatment commonly leads to loss of sight. Recently, scientists have tested the cancer-targeting effects of viruses on retinoblastoma.

More specifically, Angel Montero Carcaboso of Barcelona, Spain genetically modified the adenovirus so that it could only reproduce inside the oncogenic cells in the retinoblastoma pathway.
Many animal trials were done with this modified virus. In rabbits, the virus triggered inflammation and fluid buildup in the eyes, but these signs subsided after 6 weeks and the virus did not seem to infect other organs or areas of the body. A second study on mice found that the eyes of mice infected with the tumor were able to survive the cancer twice as long as the control group.

Clinical trials have begun in two patients who have not responded to traditional chemotherapy and radiation. In one child whose eye eventually had to be removed, the virus was found to be reproducing in some tumor cells though not normal cells. In the second child, the virus was observed to shrink and destroy tumor fragments that are hard to target with chemotherapy.

For now, scientists agree these results are promising but are cautious of the possibility that the virus may be simply targeted and eliminated by our own immune systems. Additional clinical trials are ongoing.

For the full story, visit http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/01/cancer-slaying-virus-may-fight-childhood-eye-tumor

-Angela Wang