Cancer fighting virus

They do not attack healthy cells of the body. They infect only cancer cells and destroy them. These oncolytic viruses, viruses that could become formidable anticancer weapons.

A virus against cancer?

A virus that is already saving the lives of millions of children could become a new weapon against cancer. This virus is one that is used to vaccinate against measles, a live version, but "down" the virus that causes the childhood disease. "There are viruses that will preferentially infect cancer cells. It is the case of the virus the vaccine against measles "said Marc Gregory, director of research at the Institute for Therapeutic Research, University of Nantes. "These viruses penetrate cancer cells and cause their destruction" he explains. We talk about viruses "oncolytic."

* Funded by the CRA, Mark Gregory and his team began to show interest in these viruses following a discussion with a researcher at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, Frederic Tangy. The team Nantes had almost discovered that many cancer cells on their surface showed an unusual amount of a protein called CD 46. The researcher knew Paris meanwhile that the attenuated virus vaccine against measles had just needed this protein to infect human cells. It thus was born the idea of using this virus to destroy cancer cells.