New viral therapy ‘can deliver dual-pronged efficacy against cancer’

Scientists have devised a new type of viral therapy that is able to combat cancer through two distinct methods of action.

A team from the University of Leeds and the Institute of Cancer Research have conducted studies using reovirus, which functions by killing cancer cells directly, as well as triggering an immune response to eliminate residual cells.

Moreover, it was found that reovirus is able to travel around the body by "hitching a ride" on blood cells, staying active and resistant to antibodies before honing in on cancerous tissue, while ignoring the healthy cells.

This means the treatment could be effectively injected into the bloodstream during routine outpatient appointments, making it suitable for a wide range of cancer types.

University of Leeds researcher Professor Alan Melcher said: "It seems that reovirus is even cleverer than we had thought … This could be hugely significant for the uptake of viral therapies like this in clinical practice."

Around 298,000 new cases of cancer are diagnosed each year in the UK, according to NHS data, with more than one in three people developing some form of the disease during their lifetime.