Review article
Microorganisms, especially viruses, in the treatment of tumor diseases
Hrvoje Mazija
; Hrvatski institut za eksperimentalnu i translacijsku onkologiju, Zagreb, Croatia
Bratko Filipič
; Hrvatski institut za eksperimentalnu i translacijsku onkologiju, Zagreb, Croatia
Siniša Ivanković
; Ruđer Bošković Institute, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
The most frequent and usual approaches in treating tumor diseases include surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapy, hormonal therapy, transplantation of stem cells and comprehensively personalized treatment. Treatment using various microorganisms, mainly viruses, has become neglected and almost forgotten. Their direct application, in terms of apathogenic viruses or their genomic modifications, is becoming increasingly common, and has achieved a high level of applicability. This paper relates mainly to the possibility of using microorganisms, mainly viruses and to a lesser extent bacteria, in treating tumor diseases. Some viruses can infect and kill tumor cells, and they are known as oncolytic. Some of them are found in nature, but there are also some that have been modified, in order to enhance their oncolytic potential, acting exclusively on tumor cells without damaging healthy cells. Very recently, genetically modified viruses have achieved a degree of public use by being placed on the market, and have been permitted by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) for treating melanoma (T-VEC), and in China modified adenovirus (H101) is used in treating cancers of the head and neck in humans. The special value of viruses used for treating tumor diseases is that they multiply inside the tumor cell until they destroy it, thereby creating a complex of tumor antigens, which makes them recognizable by the immune system. The reaction of that system is local or systemic, and this is recognized today as immunotherapy. In comparison with classical forms of treatment for tumor diseases, the use of oncolytic viruses and immunotherapy is more successful, with only mild side-effects. Today, they are dominant in research precisely for that reason.
Keywords
tumor diseases; treatment; microorganisms; oncolytic viruses
Hrčak ID:
238097
URI
Publication date:
30.3.2020.
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