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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Researchers are using a modified version of the herpes virus to fight the deadliest form of skin cancer, which strikes about 70,000 Americans a year.
Shari Wells of Ashland, Kentucky, recalls sitting with doctors at the University of Louisville's James Graham Brown Cancer Center and learning that her melanoma had advanced to the point that she probably had less than six months to live.
But Wells, 56, told The Courier-Journal (http://cjky.it/1JbF95j) that the treatment involving the herpes virus "saved my life."
"I was never so thankful in my whole life than for that medicine," said Wells, whose cancer went into remission. "Without it, I would be dead."
A study involving 436 late-stage melanoma patients at 64 centers around the globe, published in the current issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology, shows that those injected with a genetically-modified version of the herpes simplex virus known as T-VEC responded better than a control group.
Sixteen percent saw a significant decrease in tumor sizes within the first year of treatment that lasted for at least six months, compared with 2 percent of patients who didn't get T-VEC.
Researchers expect the treatment to yield even better results when combined with another type of immunotherapy, which uses the body's own immune system to fight cancer.
"It appears for many patients that (T-VEC) gives long-term remission and in some cases, cure," said Rob Coffin, who invented the treatment. "Quite a number of people in that study got a complete response; all their disease went away. I'm a great believer in the concept of using viruses to treat cancer."
Over the years, scientists have explored altering various viruses, including measles and polio, to combat several types of cancer, including brain tumors, breast cancers and others.
A 2013 review in the journal Molecular Cancer concluded that cancer-fighting viruses armed with genes that stimulate the immune system, "are potent therapeutic cancer vaccines."
Such viruses, including T-VEC, will be discussed at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, which runs through June 2.
Melanoma patient Mary Kenna Deddens is currently being injected with T-VEC as part of another study at the Brown Cancer Center. The 66-year-old said she hopes the FDA approves it for wide use, because patients with advanced melanoma need more options.
"It would help a lot of people," Deddens said. "It's another tool in the toolbox."
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Information from: The Courier-Journal, http://www.courier-journal.com
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