COLD VIRUS CLOBBERS SKIN CANCER!
ACOMMON cold bug is nothing to sneeze at, say researchers, because a breakthrough study suggests the virus can be harnessed to fight deadly skin cancer!
Doctors at NYU Langone Health say their research showed coxsackievirus V937, combined with the immunotherapy cancer drug pembrolizumab, successfully shrank melanoma tumors in 47 percent of patients. And eight of the trial’s 36 participants even saw their skin cancer go into remission — with no signs of the disease apparent.
“Our initial study results are very promising and show that this oncolytic virus injection, a modified coxsackievirus, when combined with existing immunotherapy is not only safe but has the potential to work better against melanoma than immunotherapy alone,” says medical oncologist Dr. Janice Mehnert.
The team reported some participants experienced side effects, including rash and fatigue, while 36 percent of the subjects developed serious immune reactions in the liver, stomach or lungs. However, they noted the latter reactions can also happen among patients who have only received infusions of pembrolizumab.
Mehnert pointed out the treatment is still considered experimental and requires more investigation before it could become the “standard of care” for people with advanced melanoma.
The scientists suspect V937 changes the molecular makeup of the tissues surrounding tumors, boosting the body’s response to immunotherapy drugs.
Mehnert says during the next phase of the team’s study, “Our goal is to determine if the virus turns the tumor microenvironment from ‘friendly’ to one that is ‘unfriendly,’ making the cancer cells more vulnerable to pembrolizumab.”