A California hospital is testing the effectiveness of a genetically modified cancer-killing virus known to attack tumours. In the trial, people with advanced solid tumours will be injected with the virus, known as Vaxinia, in the hope that earlier lab successes are replicated in humans.
City of Hope Hospital and oncology company Imugene Limited believe the virus will shrink many of the most common cancerous growths, giving hope to millions.
The therapy takes viruses found in nature and genetically modifies them to infect, replicate in and kill cancer cells, while sparing healthy cells. While immune checkpoint inhibitors have been effective in certain cancers, patients often relapse and eventually stop responding to or develop resistance to this type of treatment.
Early research shows the new oncolytic viruses can prime a person’s immune system and make immunotherapy more effective against cancer. The study is aiming to test this out on 100 patients across approximately 10 trial sites in the United States and Australia.
The multi-centre phase 1 trial will start by delivering a low dose of CF33-hNIS (the virus) to cancer patients with metastatic or advanced solid tumours who have had at least two prior lines of standard of care treatment. The investigational treatment will be delivered either as an injection directly into tumours or intravenously.
“Our previous research demonstrated that oncolytic viruses can stimulate the immune system to respond to and kill cancer, as well as stimulate the immune system to be more responsive to other immunotherapies, including checkpoint inhibitors,” said Daneng Li, MD, principal investigator and assistant professor of City of Hope’s Department of Medical Oncology and Therapeutics Research. City of Hope is a world-leading cancer hospital in Duarte, California.
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