RESEARCH ARTICLE
Herpesvirus Vectors for Therapy of Brain Tumors
Kevin A Cassady , Jacqueline Nuss Parker*
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2010Volume: 4
First Page: 103
Last Page: 108
Publisher Id: TOVJ-4-103
DOI: 10.2174/1874357901004010103
Article History:
Received Date: 17/12/2009Revision Received Date: 7/1/2010
Acceptance Date: 7/1/2010
Electronic publication date: 18/6/2010
Collection year: 2010
open-access license: This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http: //creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.
Abstract
Genetically modified, conditionally-replicating Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 (HSV-1) vectors for the treatment of malignant glioma have provided encouraging results in the handful of Phase I and Phase II clinical trials conducted to date. In recent years, a number of new strategies have been developed to improve anti-tumor activity of these attenuated vectors, through either introduction of foreign gene inserts to enhance tumor killing through a variety of mechanisms, or through combination with existing treatment regimens, including radiation and/or chemotherapeutics. Another promising new approach has been the engineering of novel oncolytic HSV vectors that retain wildtype replication, but are targeted to tumor cells through a variety of mechanisms. This review summarizes the latest advances in herpesvirus-mediated oncolytic therapies from both preclinical results and clinical trials with oncolytic HSV vectors in patients, and their implication for design of future trials.