Biotech Values

[IanFromSI]

Interesting PR related to Liver Cancer / Hep C tx. All work seems to have been done in vitro, but I suspect there are few if any roadblocks to starting clinical trials.

whole story: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-11/uol-cvk111416.php

Opening paragraphs:

Public Release: 15-Nov-2016
Cough virus kills liver cancer cells and hepatitis virus

Reovirus stimulates the body's own immune system to kill off the cancerous cells

University of Leeds

A virus that causes childhood coughs and colds could help in the fight against primary liver cancer, according to a study.

Reovirus stimulates the body's own immune system to kill off the cancerous cells, the researchers at the University of Leeds found.

In addition, Reovirus is able to kill off the hepatitis C virus - a common cause of primary liver cancer - at the same time, the team discovered.

These early-stage findings are important because primary liver cancer is the third highest cause of cancer deaths worldwide and, if surgery is not an option, the prognosis is poor.

Study co-leader Dr Stephen Griffin, Associate Professor of Viral Oncology at the University of Leeds, said: "Ultimately we hope that by simultaneously treating the tumour, and the hepatitis virus that is driving the growth of the tumour, we may provide a more effective therapy and improve the outcomes for patients.

"Current treatments for liver cancer that can't be removed by surgery are mainly palliative - with chemotherapy only tending to prolong life, rather than cure - and it can have significant side effects."

Reovirus can cause respiratory illnesses and stomach upsets in children but by adulthood most people have been exposed to it and therefore it does not cause illness.