Favored by an excess of alcohol, a hepatitis or obesity, liver cancer is one of the cancers the most feared. But a new treatment would make it possible to lengthen the survival of patients.
Efficacy tested on other cancers
Researchers from the American biotherapy company Jennerex have developed a virus genetically engineered that targets liver cancer cells. After testing it on 30 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, they found that those who received the highest doses of the Pexa-Vec virus survived 14.1 months on average compared to only 6.7 months for the other 14. patients who received lower dosages.
“This is the first time in the history of medicine that we have been able to show that a genetically engineered virus can improve the survival of cancer patients,” said David Kirn, one of the co-authors of the AFP test. The results of the study were published in the journal Nature Medicine.
The Pexa-Vec virus was designed from the vaccinia virus. It was designed “to multiply and subsequently destroy cancer cells, while strengthening the patient’s immune system,” says Kern. The virus is able to “shrink tumor size” while having “short-lived, transient and manageable side effects” similar to a flu-like condition.
On the other hand, this same virus has already given encouraging results in previous research on colon cancers, lungs, kidneys and melanoma.
Other studies on a larger number of volunteers will be carried out to confirm these initial results.