While there is still no effective treatment method against cancer in the medical world, there is some promising news today. Scientists from the Cancer Research Institute of the University of London have revealed that the genetically modified herpes simplex virus can even kill advanced cancer cells.
Scientists ended the Phase 1 study of the treatment method they developed using the herpes simplex virus, which causes herpes in humans. In this study, the method was tested on dozens of cancer patients. The results have been extremely positive.
Even in testing alone to measure the treatment’s safety, the treatment worked largely:
The genetically modified virus, named “RP2” in its new form, was administered to 9 cancer patients individually, while immunotherapy was administered to 30 patients in combination with nivolumab. The aim of the phase 1 study was to be able to accurately adjust the dosage of RP2 in therapy and to see how much the virus was able to shrink the cancer cell.
Tumor shrinkage was observed in 3 of 9 patients who underwent RP2 only. Moreover, something miraculous happened in one of these patients. The tumor was completely destroyed by the RP2 virus. This miraculous event occurred within 15 months of starting RP2 therapy.
Improvement was also observed in 7 of 30 patients who received the immunotherapy nivolumab together with RP2. Moreover, the virus has proven to be effective in different types of cancer. The rate of cancer patients and people who developed due to this virus in the group of 30 people were as follows:
- Four out of nine patients with melanoma skin cancer,
- Two out of eight patients with eye cancer uveal melanoma and
- One in three patients with head and neck cancer saw their tumors stop growing or even shrink.
Moreover, it was observed that patients were slightly affected by side effects such as fatigue while applying these treatments. The scientists stated that it is not unusual to see such successful results in the Phase 1 process and that they will continue their work.
The results were shared by the Cancer Research Institute.
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