Reolysin Vaccine for Treatment of Ovarian Cancer

There Will Soon be a Vaccine Available to Treat a Female Cancer

Aug 1, 2009

Reolysin, a viral based vaccine, will revolutionize cancer treatment for women who have been diagnosed with progressive stage ovarian cancer.

According to the American Cancer Society, each year nearly 22,000 American women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Approximately 16,000 die from the disease. But if detected early, it is cureable. About 70% of ovarian cancers are not detected in time to be cured.

Cancer Treatments

Treatments for ovarian cancer usually consist of surgery, which means removal of not only the ovaries, but all surrounding reproductive organs including the uterus and fallopian tubes. If the disease is advanced, then radiation and platinum based chemotherapy drugs are used in addition to surgery.

How Cancer Cells Grow

According to Brad Thompson, PhD., CEO of Oncolytics Biotech, a Canadian Biotechnology company, the body has a "growth pathway" called the Ras Pathway. This is the most common pathway. This is a string of proteins that communicate with each other and cause cells to divide. For example, the first protein tells the second protein to divide, then the second protein tells the third protein to divide, etc. Normal cells divide only once. But a mutation in the Ras Pathway causes it to constantly divide without any ending. This is how cancer cells divide uncontrollably.

Reolysin Vaccine

The Ohio State University Hospital, in collaboration with Oncolytics Biotech, is currently testing a viral based vaccine called Reolysin. It is based on a virus called Reovirus and is being used in studies to treat and possibly cure ovarian cancer. This virus vaccine is designed to "turn off" the uncontrolled tumor cell growth in the Ras Pathway.

How The Reolysin Vaccine Will Work

The cells in our bodies have a natural antiviral mechanism to fight off a virus. When the Ras Pathway is turned on, the antiviral activity is turned off. The way the vaccine will work is that because it is a virus, the patient will be purposefully injected with it. When the antiviral activity is turned off, as in cancer cells, the virus will grow in these cancer cells, divide, and kill the cells in about three days. It does not affect the healthy cells that can fight off the virus on their own. As the unhealthy cells die, it infects the surrounding tissue.

"You have this infection, kill cells, re-infection cycle that goes on usually for about two weeks", says Dr. Thompson.

How It Has Been Used in Trials

In stage I and II trials, the Reolysin vaccine is being used in combination with other anti-cancer drugs. Dr. Thompson says that drugs have side effects that actually help the virus out. For example, some chemo drugs change the blood vessels and make them more permeable for the virus to get into the cell. Currently, the trial participants go to the Ohio State University Hospital as outpatients to receive the vaccine treatment. It is intravenous and takes about 45 minutes to infuse. It is a daily Monday-Friday cycle, then off for three weeks, then Monday-Friday, then off for three weeks. This is co-ordinated with other drugs depending on the drug's cycle. The patient needs some recovery time due to side effects. Stage III trials are to begin soon.

Projected Availability

If all goes well and it is approved by the FDA, the projected availability will be late 2011 or early 2012. The goal is to make it affordable and for insurance to help with the cost.

The copyright of the article Reolysin Vaccine for Treatment of Ovarian Cancer in Healthcare Research is owned by Sandra Gardner. Permission to republish Reolysin Vaccine for Treatment of Ovarian Cancer in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.