For the first time, the Food and Drug Administration has approved the medical use of a virus that can eradicate cancerous cells (more specifically, cancer cells that cause melanoma, or skin cancer) with the fury of a microsized assassin, and it's derived from a seemingly bizarre source: the herpes virus.
Imlygic, also known as T-VEC (talimogene laherparepvec), the viral therapy approved by the federal agency on Tuesday, Oct. 27, is derived from the herpes simplex virus, which in some forms can manifest as herpesvirus 1—or, as it's more commonly known, genital herpes.
In its genetically-engineered form, the modified virus comes equipped with the GM-CSF protein. When the released virus comes into contact with cancer cells, the protein releases and boosts the immune system while simultaneously attacking the pesky, melanoma-causing body invaders.
"This approval provides patients and health-care providers with a novel treatment for melanoma," stated Dr. Karen Midthun, the director of the agency's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research in the agency's press statement, acknowledging the unusual roots of the therapy, also alluding to the severity of the melanoma, which "can advance and spread to other parts of the body, where it becomes difficult to treat"—making the viral treatment even more of an imperative.
While the virus isn't a cure-all, it's definitely a significant aid in battling skin cancer. According to results published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology earlier this year, patients who participated in medical trials were able to lengthen their survival by 4.4 months on average, and experienced significant skin tumor shrinkage. Researchers involved in the study proposed that using the viral therapy in conjunction with more traditional treatments, like chemotherapy and radiation, would show a major uptick in general survival rates.
Via: Ars Technica
Photo: Ed Uthman | Flickr