"Immunotherapies, including oncolytic virotherapy, offer novel, targeted approaches to treat brain tumors with increased efficacy and reduced toxicity [5]."
BUFFALO, NY- January 26, 2023 – A new research perspective was published in Oncotarget's Volume 14 on January 12, 2023, entitled, "Intraventricular immunovirotherapy; a translational step forward."
In this new perspective, researchers Joshua D. Bernstock, Sarah Blitz, Kyung-Don Kang, and Gregory K. Friedman from Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and University of Alabama at Birmingham discuss oncolytic virotherapy with intratumoral engineered type-1 herpes simplex virus (HSV). Intraventricular therapy (IVT) has been proven safe with promising efficacy in recent clinical trials for treatment of both pediatric and adult high-grade glioma.
"Oncolytic herpes simplex virus type-1 (oHSV) has shown promise in clinical trials in both pediatric and adult brain tumors [6–9]."
However, this approach excludes patients with tumors in surgically inaccessible and/or eloquent brain regions. Current delivery methods are also unable to access/treat those patients with metastatic disease in the spinal cord and/or leptomeningeal disease. A recent preclinical study has paved the way for clinical translation of intraventricular administration of oHSV by identifying and mitigating the toxicity associated with this route for therapeutic benefit in murine models of disseminated medulloblastoma. This work may ultimately allow for targeting of intractable disease and provides a feasible option for the repetitive dosing of clinically relevant immunovirotherapy, G207.
"Overall, demonstrating the safety and efficacy of IVT with G207 is a significant step towards expanding the capabilities of oHSV, paving the way for new clinical trials, and increasing the potential of an already promising therapy."
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.28343
Correspondence to: Joshua D. Bernstock, Gregory K. Friedman
