Herpes cancer breakthrough

Terminally ill cancer patients have seen their tumours completely eradicated or shrunk after being treated with a genetically engineered version of the herpes virus. Scientists at the Institute for Cancer Research (ICR) in London have developed a new therapy which infects and destroys cancer cells while also rallying the immune system. In early trials to assess the safety of the therapy, one quarter of patients with end-of-life cancer saw their tumours stop growing, shrink or disappear completely. The genetically engineered virus — called RP2 — is injected directly into the tumour where it multiplies, causing cancer cells to burst from within.