VATIS UPDATE Article

Researchers at Duke University, the United States, have produced compelling research that shows a patient’s own immune system can be used to attack brain cancer cells. The latest research confirms results Duke’s scientists have previously reported in experimental trials with brain cancer patients. Some patients have experienced dramatic shrinkage of brain tumors and remission of their cancer.

Brain tumors are among the most aggressive forms of cancer with low survival rates; historically patients have been treated with surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. “If the results are further confirmed by additional tests and studies, they could ultimately lead to the development of therapies that could turn many forms of cancer into a manageable condition, like diabetes or HIV,” said Matthias Gromeier, at Duke.

Duke’s researchers are deploying a polio virus that’s genetically modified not to harm patients but naturally infects cancerous growths. The virus identifies the tumors for the patient’s immune system, and activates the immune system to launch an attack. The modified polio virus, developed by Gromeier in 1994, received breakthrough therapy designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last year.