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Science 13 November 1998:
Vol. 282. no. 5392, pp. 1244 - 126
DOI: 10.1126/science.282.5392.1244
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News Focus

ONCOLOGY:
Training Viruses to Attack Cancers

Elizabeth Pennisi

A growing assortment of viruses that replicate in and kill cancer cells, but not normal tissue, may be new weapons in the war on cancer. So far, researchers have come up with a half-dozen of these tumor-killing, or oncolytic, viruses, the latest of which is a reovirus described on page 1332. The reovirus--a type of virus that doesn't cause problems in humans--is not yet in clinical trials, but two other viruses are, and early results from one indicate that it can shrink tumors, particularly when used in conjunction with other therapies. Also in the works are oncolytic viruses that not only kill cancer cells but also carry genes that make the cells more susceptible to radiation or chemotherapy, thereby delivering a double blow to the tumor.

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)