Using the polio virus to treat brain cancer

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Polio virus targets, kills brain tumors: study

An inactivated form of the polio virus has cured brain

tumors in mice, and doesn't appear to cause a

subsequent case of poliomeyelitis.

Malignant gliomas, the most common (95%) and one of

the most lethal brain cancers, have been found to

overexpress CD155, which contributes to their

" explosive " growth. This finding was interesting to

researchers, who have known that the polio virus

exploites that very molecule to infect nerve tissue.

Researches at Duke University in Durham, North

Carolina, have devised a weapon to combat the brain

cancer using the polio virus. First, they replace

part of the virus' DNA with a portion of a rhinovirus

(responsible for the common cold). This renders the

polio virus unable to cause polio. They then injected

the disabled virus into murine models. All of the

tumors vanished within days. In a separate study, 14

monkeys were given the same drug. None of them

developed symptoms of polio. The engineered virus

apparently does not harm healthy nerve tissue.

The findings are " a dream come true for people who

work on brain tumors, " commented Dr. Mattias Gromeier

of Duke University. Researchers said they have found

active CD155 in every single malignant gliomas--that

the team has analyzed.

A polio-based anti-tumor drug based on the Duke team's

research is currently under development at the US

National Cancer Institute, Gromeier said, with phase I

clinical trials in humans expected " within the next

few years. "

Developed on material from:

http://www.reutershealth.com/frame2/eline.html

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