Engineered oncolytic virus for activation of bystander antiviral T cells in cancer

Intratumorally delivered oncolytic viruses expressing tumor-irrelevant common viral antigens could help treat cancer by inducing tumor killing by tumor-resident bystander T cells.

In a xenograft mouse model of colon cancer previously infected with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV), intratumoral injection of an oncolytic virus expressing one of two LCMV genes, in either a Newcastle disease virus or adenovirus vector, decreased tumor growth and increased survival compared with viral vectors not expressing the antigens or vehicle, an effect not seen in mice not previously infected with LCMV. ...