Moreover, Dr. Gholami explained that TNBC cells have high levels of p-MAPK, a protein that promotes cancer cells to grow and has been reported as a potential cause for resistance to current conventional therapies. Knowing that the herpes virus specifically targets cells that over express this protein is the reason she chose to test this treatment protocol. "When we infect TNBC cells with the herpes virus and measure p-MAPK levels, the protein level decreases with time after treatment with the virus," Dr. Gholami said.
The hope is that advances in oncolytic viral therapy, which uses viruses tailored to target and destroy cancer cells while sparing healthy cells, will allow researchers to develop more effective strategies for hard-to-treat cancers. A similar herpes virus has been tested in clinical trials against head and neck cancers. But this is the first laboratory study to show promise in using the therapy to treat TNBC.
The next steps, Dr. Gholami said, are to map out the pathways in which the virus kills the tumor cells to determine how to improve upon this mechanism. In the future, the Fong laboratory, which is on the forefront in oncolytic viral therapy research, will continue this avenue of investigation in animal studies. The team will also work to identify leads to understand what existing chemotherapy drugs can be used synergistically with this viral therapy. Finding complementary treatments that kill fast-growing cancer cells and combat resistance is the key to possibly making a cure a reality.
If additional animal studies are also positive, human clinical trials could be on the horizon. "Our goal is to improve this version of the virus and get it into a clinical trial," Dr. Gholami said. "Ultimately, I believe the treatment for TNBC will be a multimodality targeted treatment approach: potentially using a viral-based therapy plus some other targeted chemotherapy or radiation."
The study was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Flight Attendant Medical Research Institution.
Source-Newswise
