www.bewet.fora.pl

kah6omi4ny

Dr. Harrington said the effectiveness of current cancer treatments depends on how early the cancer is diagnosed. Unfortunately in most cases, the tumour is detected at advanced stages, the lead researcher continued.
Ninety three percent of the 17 patients who participated in the trial at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London showed no trace of cancer after their tumours had been surgically removed. Also, a follow-up two years later revealed 82.4 percent of the patients had not relapsed. Only two of the 13 the patients who received high doses of the virus relapsed.
“However [link widoczny dla zalogowanych], the very high rates of tumour response have led to the decision to take this drug into a large scale phase three trial,” he continued. “This will be the first ever phase three trial combining virus therapy with curative chemotherapy.”
Neck and head cancer, including cancer of the mouth, tongue and throat, affects as many as 650,000 people worldwide every year, 350,000 of whom die from it, according to the BBC report.
Herpes Virus Had Triple Effect
“The virus has been genetically modified so that it is no longer able to cause cold sore [link widoczny dla zalogowanych],” said Dr. Harrington, according to Neharika Sabharwal in "Herpes virus shows promise in mouth cancer treatment - study" (Aug. 4, 2010, themedguru.com). “The genes that normally allow the virus to hide in the body and pop out later – called latent infection – have been removed so the virus can no longer do that.”
The clinical trial showed head and neck tumour shrank in 14 of the patients as a result of the treatment, while a follow-up 29 months later revealed most patients were still alive. The trial results were published in the bi-monthly journal Clinical Cancer Research.
“Around 35 to 55 percent of patients given the standard chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment typically relapse within two years, so these results compare very favourably,” Dr. Harrington concluded.
The London hospital trial showed the use of the virus combined with chemotherapy and radiotherapy succeeded in killing cancer cells in most patients. The method is also being tested in patients with skin cancer.
Study Details
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is for educational purposes only and should not be used for diagnosis or to guide treatment without the opinion of a health professional. Any reader who is concerned about his or her health should contact a doctor for advice.
Once administered, the herpes virus finds its way into tumor cells where it grows, eliminating the malignant cells and, at the same time, boosting the patient's immune system. The virus is genetically manipulated to produce a human protein and avoid infecting normal healthy cells.
However, lead researcher Dr. Kevin Harrington admitted that while promising, the findings are not conclusive since the trial involved a small number of patients. Further tests will be performed later this year. “This was a small study so the results should be interpreted with caution [link widoczny dla zalogowanych],” said Dr. Harrington, as reported by Mirror’s Mike Swain in a July 31, 2010 story ("Herpes virus can kill cancer cells").
The virus, which is believed to kill cancer cells, was injected into 17 British patients diagnosed with head and neck cancer in what could prove to be major step in treating the lethal disease, according to a Aug. 1, 2010 BBC report (Emma Wilkinson, "Herpes virus used to treat cancer").
Read on
Antioxidants and Cancer Therapy
Tamoxifen and Raloxifene
What Are Clinical Trials?