Mesothelioma Oncolytic Virus Therapy

How Does Oncolytic Virus Therapy Work as a Cancer Treatment?

Years of research prove viruses can attack cancer. Doctors are learning how to harness these infectious agents to fight deadly diseases.

Viruses are a small collection of code with a protein “coat.” They infect the body’s healthy cells and use those cells as a “host,” replicating themselves within the host cell. During the replication process, the virus breaks up and kills the host cell. The virus then moves to other cells to continue replicating.

Researchers create viruses in laboratories and alter their genetics, usually to ignore healthy cells and focus on mutated, cancerous cells. These viruses can enter cancer cells, replicating like above and breaking up the diseased cells. This is how oncolytic virus therapy shrinks a cancerous tumor or prevent it from growing any further.

Using Oncolytic Virus Therapy for Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma is a cancer of the mesothelium, which is a set of thin, protective linings in the body. These linings are made up of mesothelial cells. When these mesothelial cells mutate malignant mesothelioma forms.

The mesothelial linings include the:

• Pleura, a lining around both lungs
• Peritoneum, a lining around the abdominal cavity
• Pericardium, a lining around the heart

This cancer quickly evolves past the host lining and towards the nearby organs. It also spreads as multiple microscopic tumors rather than one large ever-growing mass.

Oncolytic virus therapy attacks diseased mesothelial cells just as they would other cancer cells. It infiltrates the cells and breaks them up, stopping them from spreading.

To summarize how oncolytic virus therapy works for mesothelioma:

Types of Mesothelioma Oncolytic Virus Therapy

Oncolytic virus therapy has multiple applications for treating and stopping cancer. There are two main types of oncolytic virus therapies:

• Viral vectors for other therapies
• Viral immunotherapy

Oncolytic Viruses

These viruses directly attack mesothelioma cells. They enter the cells and use them as hosts. The viruses then break the cells apart, killing them and slowly shrinking the size of a tumor.

Oncolytic viruses are programmed to:

• Not replicate once they infect cells
• Ignore healthy cells

In some cases, doctors create the programs to die once it breaks apart the host mesothelioma cell.

Oncolytic viruses also can help the immune system. The broken-apart mesothelioma cells release antigens. These antigens can serve as blueprints for the immune system to locate mesothelioma cells with similar antigens.

An example of an oncolytic virus with an immune-stimulating aspect is ONCOS-102 for mesothelioma. This therapy received FDA fast-track designation early in 2021.

Other examples are:

• GL-ONC1, a modified form of the vaccinia virus that stopped smallpox, is part of a clinical trial at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
• MV-NIS, a form of the measles virus, and part of a clinical study at the Mayo Clinic
• Tiny gold nanotubes enter the cell, absorb light and cause the cells to overheat

Viral Vectors for Other Therapies

Oncolytic viruses can serve as a transport for other therapies, most notably gene therapy or immunotherapy. The viruses act as a cargo train and immediately shut down once they reach the destination, which is the site of mesothelioma.

Viral Immunotherapy

Viral immunotherapy uses the virus’ presence in the body to stimulate an immune response. The immune system’s T-cells are charged with seeking and killing unwanted intruders, ranging from common cold viruses to deadly cancerous tumors.

By inserting a virus into the disease location, the T-cells respond in droves to the site. This puts them in the vicinity of the mesothelioma cells. The viruses usually cause an event that allows the T-cells to properly recognize mesothelioma cells as dangerous to the body.

ONCOS-102 and Interferon Alpha-2B are both examples of viral immunotherapy.

Benefits of Oncolytic Virus Therapy for Mesothelioma

Oncolytic virus therapy is a fast-rising treatment method for numerous reasons. Most notably, it can improve survival time as a second-line option after other therapies failed.

The benefits of oncolytic virus therapy are based on the current standard of treatment for mesothelioma. Surgery is the first option, but most patients aren’t candidates due to their age, health and the cancer’s spread.

Chemotherapy is the next option as a maintenance therapy. For oncolytic virus therapy to emerge as a new standard option for mesothelioma, they must outperform chemotherapy both in survival and safety.

Improved Survival Time

Oncolytic virus therapy has outperformed chemotherapy in a few clinical trials, most notably ONCOS-102. The median survival rate for ONCOS-102 with chemotherapy is 22-25 months at the two-year follow-up. The survival rate for chemotherapy on its own is 14 months.

TR002, the viral vector therapy delivering a type of gene therapy, performed well in a phase 2 trial:

Fewer Side Effects

Oncolytic virus therapy causes fewer side effects than chemotherapy. This is a significant benefit to the treatment.

Chemotherapy often causes severe nausea, fatigue and weight loss. Side effects of oncolytic virus therapy depends on the type of virus used, along with the target location for the therapy.

Oncolytic virus therapy can cause flu-like symptoms, such as chills, fatigue, nausea and fever. These might be the immune system responding to the virus’ presence, although the virus is programmed to ignore healthy cells. Therefore, the effects should be mild.

Option for Late-Stage Patients

Late-stage mesothelioma patients have few therapeutic options. Most researchers look for a treatment to permanently stall the disease’s growth. This would turn mesothelioma into a manageable chronic illness.

Ongoing Research and Studies Involving Mesothelioma Oncolytic Virus Therapy

Quite a lot of ongoing studies feature oncolytic virus therapy for mesothelioma. ONCOS-102 is the most noteworthy one, with an upcoming trial to combine oncolytic virus therapy with a checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy drug.

If you’re interested in oncolytic virus therapy trials, please contact our medical staff. We can help you find a study close to your residence, making participation easier.