The emerging field of oncolytic virus-based cancer immunotherapy

Rui Ma; Zhenlong Li; E Antonio Chiocca; Michael A Caligiuri; Jianhua Yu

doi:10.1016/j.trecan.2022.10.003

The emerging field of oncolytic virus-based cancer immunotherapy

Trends Cancer. 2023 Feb;9(2):122-139. doi: 10.1016/j.trecan.2022.10.003. Epub 2022 Nov 17.

Authors

Rui Ma¹, Zhenlong Li², E Antonio Chiocca³, Michael A Caligiuri⁴, Jianhua Yu⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, City of Hope National Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 91010, USA; Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, Frontiers Science Center for Disease-related Molecular Network, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, PR China.
² Department of Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, City of Hope National Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 91010, USA.
³ Harvey Cushing Neuro-Oncology Laboratories, Department of Neurosurgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
⁴ Department of Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, City of Hope National Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 91010, USA; Hematologic Malignancies Research Institute, City of Hope National Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 91010, USA; Comprehensive Cancer Center, City of Hope, Los Angeles, CA 91010, USA.
⁵ Department of Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, City of Hope National Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 91010, USA; Hematologic Malignancies Research Institute, City of Hope National Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 91010, USA; Comprehensive Cancer Center, City of Hope, Los Angeles, CA 91010, USA; Department of Immuno-Oncology, Beckman Research Institute, Los Angeles, CA 91010, USA. Electronic address: jiayu@coh.org.

Abstract

Oncolytic viruses (OVs) provide novel and promising therapeutic options for patients with cancers resistant to traditional therapies. Natural or genetically modified OVs are multifaceted tumor killers. They directly lyse tumor cells while sparing normal cells, and indirectly potentiate antitumor immunity by releasing antigens and activating inflammatory responses in the tumor microenvironment. However, some limitations, such as limited penetration of OVs into tumors, short persistence, and the host antiviral immune response, are impeding the broad translation of oncolytic virotherapy into the clinic. If these challenges can be overcome, combination therapies, such as OVs plus immune checkpoint blockade (ICB), chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells, or CAR natural killer (NK) cells, may provide powerful therapeutic platforms in the clinic.

Keywords: CAR-NK; CAR-T; combination therapy; immunotherapy; oncolytic virotherapy; oncolytic virus.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

Humans
Immunotherapy
Killer Cells, Natural
Neoplasms* / therapy
Oncolytic Virotherapy*
Oncolytic Viruses* / genetics
Tumor Microenvironment

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding