Cancer-Fighting Virus That Kills ONLY Tumors
Posted in Research on 09/05/2011 04:43 pm by JudyCancer-Fighting Virus Kills Tumors Without Harming Healthy Tissue
On September 2, 2011 NewsMaxHealth posted an email about a new discovery. Apparently they have found a cancer-fighting virus that kills tumors without harming healthy tissue. This is an amazing discovery because, before now, most cancer-fighting treatment not only killed tumors but healthy tissue as well.
Researchers have shown for the first time that a single intravenous infusion of a genetically engineered virus can actually find cancer cells and kill the tumor without harming a patient’s healthy tissue. This is an intriguing discovery. I am amazed at what researchers find to heal the body, and even more intrigued by what the body does with them.
For decades, scientists have been intrigued with the idea of using viruses to alert the immune system to seek and destroy cancer cells. Can you imagine how excited they must have been when advances in genetic engineering took off in recent years and allowed them to customize viruses to target tumors?
The discovery was possible because a biotech giant named Amgen agreed to pay up to $1 billion for BioVex, the developer of experimental cancer-fighting virus OncoVex. But the only “oncolytic virus” so far approved by a regulatory agency is for treatment of head and neck cancer in China. Bummer, hope it doesn’t take another decade to reach America.
In a study published in the journal Nature, scientists at institutions including the University of Ottawa and privately held biotech company Jennerex said a small, early-stage trial of experimental viral therapy JX-594 found that it consistently infected tumors with only minimal and temporary side effects.
The next test with these experimental virus will be in a mid-stage trial of liver cancer patients.
“With chemotherapy you get drastic side effects,” said Dr. John Bell, chief scientific officer at Jennerex and senior scientist at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. “Patients on this treatment only had 24-hour flu symptoms and nothing after that.”
ALERT: These 4 Things Happen Right Before a Heart Attack
More Beans, Less White Rice Lowers Diabetes Risk
Poor Sleep Raises Blood Pressure
Niacin Helps With Men’s Sex Problems
Special: Suzanne Somers Found the Doctors Curing Cancer. Watch Video.
Ask Dr. Hibberd: New Help for Atrial Fibrillation
What Size Is Your Prostate? See This Photo.
The Blood Glucose Epidemic: A Doctor’s View on What’s Wrong and How to Fix It.
……………………………………………………………………
To Read More Health News go to NewsmaxHealth.com