Fighting cancer

By: Josh Leach

How can viruses be used to fight cancer?  Scientists are currently exploring the concept of genetically altering viruses so they target cancer cells specifically.  The surrounding tissue should remain unaffected, which would make viral treatment far safer than chemo or radiation.

The idea of using viruses to fight cancer has been around for a long time.  Viruses get into the cells and reprogram them to produce viral offspring.  Since cancer cells replicate quickly, they can potentially produce a lot of viruses.  For this reason, cancer cells are a prime target for viruses.  According to the Mayo Clinic, “Dr. Russell, the Richard O. Jacobson Professor of Molecular Medicine, began researching the cancer-fighting potential of the measles virus more than 17 years ago. At that time, the best evidence suggesting it might work was that a doctor in Africa had reported a facial tumor of a child with lymphoma temporarily receded after he contracted measles.”  Abby Aldridge, senior at Seckman High School, says, “It’s shocking that something harmful can be transformed into a medicine.” Scientists were able to reproduce these results by genetically altering the measles virus to make it target cancer cells only, therefore making it a safer treatment.  

The Mayo Clinic goes on to tell the story of their patient Stacy: “When Stacy entered the study in 2013, she had multiple tumors on her clavicle, sternum, vertebral body and skull. The tumor on her forehead, which Stacy's children named Evan, had grown to about the size of a golf ball and destroyed the bone of her skull, compressing her brain.  A day and a half after Stacy received an infusion of the cancer-fighting measles virus, Evan began to disappear.  It's been 10 years since Stacy was diagnosed with cancer and had to cancel travel plans to Denver in celebration of her 40th birthday. She made that trip for her 50th birthday.”  Josh Kurosz, a senior, responded to this news, “That sounds like this might really be a cure for cancer!”

Measles is being tested as a treatment for a variety of cancers.   Matt Saford, a journalist for Smithsonian Magazine, writes, “A team led by Dr. Stephen Russell at Minnesota’s Mayo Clinic announced that a patient with previously unresponsive, blood-borne cancer (multiple myeloma) had gone into complete remission after being treated with a massive dose of a modified measles virus. A second patient given a similar dose (10 million times the amount in the common measles vaccine) didn’t respond as dramatically to the treatment, but the patient’s tumors did shrink, indicating the virus was at least attacking the targeted areas.” 

Measles and other viruses are promising treatments for cancer patients.  Could this be the future cure for cancer?   Ironically, the same viruses that have killed millions in the past may save millions in the future.