The study is a very interesting one and talks of "hitch-hiking" anti-cancer viruses travelling on blood cells, if you have time have a look here! If not here it is briefly summarised:
The reoviruses which combat the cancer tumours "sneak" around the body on blood cells themselves (not in the blood plasma) enabling them to evade the body's immune system and are therefore not destroyed!
The viruses are able to kill cancerous tumour cells and leave the surrounding tissues unharmed.
The viruses have been used in patients with advanced bowel cancer. Following an injection the virus was detected in the tumour but not in the liver itself. This suggests the virus is able to selectively target the cancerous cells!!
The professor at the University of Leeds behind the trails believes eventually these viruses will be "used in combination with chemotherapy" to treat cancer.
We will soon see.. Further trials are being carried out in patients with neck and head cancer and studies using genetically modified viruses are also being carried out in America.
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