Wednesday 25 June 2014

Virus can be used to kill cancer and tumour cells

Representational Picture
According to researchers of the Penn State College of Medicine, understanding how the virus kills cancer cells may lead to new treatments for breast cancer.

Adeno-associated virus type 2 (AAV2) infects humans but is not known to cause sickness.

"Treatment of breast cancer remains difficult because there are multiple signaling pathways that promote tumour growth and develop resistance to treatment," said Craig Meyers, professor of microbiology and immunology at Pennsylvania State University in US.

In prior studies, the researchers tested the virus on a variety of breast cancers that represent degrees of aggressiveness on human papillomavirus-positive cervical cancer cells.

The virus initiated apoptosis natural cell death in cancer cells without affecting healthy cells.

Treatment of breast cancer differs from patient to patient due to differences in tumours. A triple-negative breast cancer is typically aggressive.

"There is an urgent and ongoing need for the development of novel therapies which efficiently target triple-negative breast cancers," Meyers said.

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