Researches at the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, a part of Georgetown University Medical Center have recently discovered that a common virus could have the ability to eliminate tumors.
Reovirus, which causes coughing and diarrhea, is a very common virus and by the age of five most people have experienced it; some people experience the symptoms, while others aren’t affected. The body generally overpowers the virus, so it does little harm to people. However, scientists have uncovered that this virus grows like a “gangbuster” inside of tumors, with a malfunction that causes tumor growth. Therefore, scientists question whether this virus could actually have a healing affect.
In order to test the Reovirus’s ability, scientists have genetically altered the virus so that it can’t grow inside of healthy cells. Instead, “What's left is a virus in search of a host, and reovirus loves the environment inside a specific kind of cancer cell.” KRAS and EGFR are two kinds of cancer cells that have a malfunctioning machinery mutation. These mutations in these cells allow the virus to takeover; the virus then shuts down the cells machinery and doesn’t allow it to replicate itself.
This research would allow scientists to eliminate a certain kind of cancer due to the kinds of cancer cells in tumors. Subramaniam says, “This is a subset of cancer where we haven't had many successes in terms of finding drugs that extend life after diagnosis.” Therefore, this new hypothesis is very exciting for scientists to experiment.
submitted by N. Carpenter
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