A genetically engineered herpes virus has successfully cured people of skin cancer. The study was led by the Institute of Cancer Research in the United Kingdom.
In the study, scientists showed that the new treatment allowed some people suffering from skin cancer to live for more than three years.
Called Talimogene Laherparepvec (T-VEC), the treatment works by infecting and killing cancer cells while also kicking the immune system into action against tumors, BBC News reported.
At present, most cancers are cured using surgery, radiotherapy and invasive chemotherapy. These treatments carry the risk of further harm.
The new treatment does not harm healthy cells or tissue and has fewer side effects. The clinical trials have been ongoing for more than three years and have been conducted in 64 centres across South Africa, Canada, United States and UK.
The study results showed that 163 people suffering from stage three and early stage four melanoma who received T-VEC lived for 41 months. That was compared with a survival of 21.5 months for 66 people who received the current best immunotherapy drugs.
Scientists found that the responses to the treatment were most pronounced in people with less advanced cancer and people yet to receive any treatment.
A modified form of herpes virus, T-VEC multiplies inside cancer cells and bursts them from within. It has been genetically engineered to generate a molecule known as GM-CSF, which provokes the immune system to attack the tumor.
T-VEC has also been modified to remove two key genes called ICP47 and ICP34.5 so that it cannot replicate within healthy and normal cells. Healthy cells identify and destroy T-VEC before it can cause harm; however, it replicates easily in cancer cells because their infection defenses are compromised by genetic errors, Daily Mail Online reported.