Oncolytic Virus Therapy: Can Viruses Treat Cancer? (Post #19)

Welcome back to the Founder's Blog! Today we will be discussing a very interesting topic: oncolytic virus therapy. We will look through the treatment process, how it works, and future steps.

When we hear the word "virus", we usually think of a small non-living particle that can cause sickness. Viruses can infect our cells and cause the flu or a common cold. Diseases like measles and HIV are also caused by viruses. As a result, we usually think of them as a nuisance.

However, they may be of use to cure diseases rather than cause them. As scientists are currently researching, certain viruses can be used to fight cancer. This treatment is called oncolytic virus therapy.

Before diving into how the treatment works, let's understand what oncolytic viruses are:

• viruses that have been genetically altered in the lab

  • their DNA is changed

• these changes cause viruses to attack and kill cancer cells

  • changes also reduce chances of virus attacking healthy cells

After viruses enter cancer cells, they multiply. This means that they use the cell's machinery to make copies of themselves. The virus inserts its DNA into the host cell DNA. When the DNA is transcripted and translated to form proteins, the virus section also forms proteins. These proteins assemble into a new particle of the same virus. Through this process, the cell becomes filled with virus particles.

Eventually, the cell becomes too full and lyses, or breaks apart. It releases all those virus particles into the surroundings. It also releases unique tumor antigens into the external environment. As a result, the immune system notices the cancer and is able to attack it.

So, oncolytic viruses have the ability to fight cancer in 2 ways:

• virus infects and destroys cells

• virus helps activate immune system, which recognizes and kills cancer cells

How is this relevant to throat and oral cancer though? Well, throat and oral cancers are difficult to treat, often resulting in damage to nearby healthy tissue. This can affect a patient's ability to swallow, speak, eat, etc.

Since oncolytic cell therapy has the potential to specifically target cancer cells with minimum damage to healthy cells, it can improve the quality of life of patients compared to other treatments.

However, oncolytic cell therapy is still being researched, and doctors have not yet certified it for clinical use. Scientists are also testing whether oncolytic cell therapy can be combined with other treatments, like immunotherapy (go to Post #17 for further information on immunotherapy!) Some viruses currently being tested in clinical trials are: Adenovirus, Herpes Simplex Virus, and Maraba Virus. Check out the citations for more detailed information on these trials!

Oncolytic cancer therapy is an exciting possibility for the future of cancer therapy. It turns something that causes diseases into a cure for them, opening a door for a new way of scientific thinking!

Thanks for reading today's post! See you for the next one.

Information Citations:

“Oncolytic Virus Therapy - Cancer Research Institute.” Cancer Research Institute, 30 Apr. 2025, https://www.cancerresearch.org/immunotherapy-by-treatment-types/oncolytic-virus-therapy.

Xiao, Danli, et al. “Oncolytic Viruses: Advanced Strategies in Cancer Therapy.” Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy, vol. 11, no. 1, Feb. 2026, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41392-025-02343-3.

Image Citations:

Science Direct. Graphical Abstract: Evolution of Oncolytic Adenovirus for Cancer Treatment. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0169409X1100305X. Accessed 1 Aug. 2026.