Oncolytic viruses represent a diverse class of replication competent viruses that curtail tumor growth. These viruses, through their natural ability or through genetic modifications, can selectively replicate within tumor cells and induce cell death while leaving normal cells intact. Apart from the direct oncolytic activity, these viruses mediate tumor cell death via the induction of innate and...

Malignancy-induced alterations to cytokine signaling in tumor cells differentially regulate their interactions with the immune system and oncolytic viruses. The abundance of inflammatory cytokines in the tumor microenvironment suggests that such signaling plays key roles in tumor development and therapy efficacy. The JAK-STAT axis transduces signals of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interferons (IFNs...

The association between natural viral infection and remission of cancer has been described for over a 100 years. 1 The clinical observations that microbial infection of tumor may produce direct killing of cancer or through host immune actions are the basis of the field of oncolytic viral therapy. Astute investigators in the 1950's through the 1960's attempted to capitalize on such observations ...

RNA interference (RNAi) is a posttranscriptional silencing mechanism triggered by double-stranded RNA that was recently shown to function in mammalian cells. Expression of cancer-associated genes was knocked down by expressing short hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) in cancer cells. By virtue of its excellent target specificity, RNAi may be used as a new therapeutic modality for cancer. The success of this...

Oncolytic viruses OVs are tumor-selective, multi-mechanistic antitumor agents. For cancer therapy have led to new concepts, that apop.modification of oncolytic viruses have improved their tumor specificity, leading to the.

Oncolytic virotherapy on its own has numerous drawbacks, including an inability of the virus to actively target tumor cells and systemic toxicities at the high doses necessary to effectively treat tumors. Addition of immune cell-based carriers of oncolytic viruses holds promise as a technique in which oncolytic virus can be delivered directly to tumors in smaller and less toxic doses. Interesti...

Cancer is the leading cause of disease-related death in companion animals such as dogs and cats. Despite recent progress in the diagnosis and treatment of advanced canine and feline cancer, overall patient treatment outcome has not been substantially improved. Virotherapy using oncolytic viruses is one promising new strategy for cancer therapy. Oncolytic viruses (OVs) preferentially infect and ...

Oncolytic viruses are natural or genetically modified viral species that selectively infect and kill neoplastic cells. Such an innate or exogenously conferred specificity has generated considerable interest around the possibility to employ oncolytic viruses as highly targeted agents that would mediate cancer cell-autonomous anticancer effects. Accumulating evidence, however, suggests that the t...

Reovirus, a double-stranded RNA virus, can infect many types of cancer cells and cause oncolysis. Mammalian reovirus has exhibited promising anticancer activity in clinical trials and holds great advantages and promise as an anticancer agent. Reovirus is not associated with any serious human diseases, naturally targets and destroys tumors, and lacks the DNA synthesis stage, thus avoiding potent...

1Genelux Corporation, San Diego Science Center, San Diego, CA 92019, USA 2Department of Radiation Oncology, Rebecca and John Moores Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego, CA 92093, USA 3Department of Biochemistry, University of Wuerzburg, 97074 Wuerzburg, Germany 4Rudolf Virchow Center for Experimental Biomedicine, University of Wuerzburg, 97078 Wuerzburg, Germany 5 I...