Virus-Based Treatment Stops, Reverses Tumor Growth

The fight against cancer receives a hopeful boost with a UK clinical trial whose participants all saw tumors either stop growing or shrink.

The chances are pretty good that when we hear the word virus, what comes to mind is something that would be best avoided. But not only are viruses not always harmful, one specific virus that normally lives in our respiratory and gastrointestinal symptoms without incident may provide hope for those whose hope had otherwise faded. As The Telegraph has reported, injections of medication made from the reovirus shows an astonishing ability to halt and even reverse the growth of cancerous tumors.

The Telegraph further indicates that the slowing and reversal of the cancers' growth has been demonstrated to occur in a wide variety of the disease, several known to be extremely resistant to treatment. Growth shrinkage following the injection of the drug Reosylin, which includes viral cells, has been observed in cases of cancers of the lung, bowel, ovaries and skin. The dramatic improvements among the 23 study participants were noted to take place in patients whose conditions were quite advanced and in often cases deemed beyond hope based on traditional cancer therapies.

According to The Telegraph report, one patient with a very large salivary gland tumor shrunk in size to the point where surgical removal became possible; a second, described as in late terminal stage of illness and on the verge of passing away remained alive a year and a half later.

The results came as a welcome surprise for all involved. Initially designed to be a study that would investigate the safety of the virus-based treatment, the trial incidentally included the collection of growth size data among the 23 study participants, all of whom demonstrated either a cessation or a reversal in the growth of their respective cancers.

Kevin Harrington of London's Institute of Cancer Research and lead author of the study that appears in the journal Clinical Cancer Research finds promise in the clinical results as quoted by The Telegraph:

''The absence of any significant side effects in this study is extremely reassuring for future trials in patients receiving radiotherapy with the aim of curing their cancer.''

Meanwhile, the CEO of Canada's Oncolytics Biotech Inc. who manufactures Reolyslin struck a similarly enthusiastic tone regarding the apparent and unanticipated efficacy of its product:

''We believe that this study clearly demonstrates that the combination of low dose radiation and Reolysin is well tolerated and that the very high response rate warrants further investigation.''

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Source: Tonic