Herpes virus homes in on cancer target
A virus well known for the painful cold sores it causes is currently being tested as a treatment for patients’ malignant tumors. New findings by researchers at the University of Calgary in Alberta show how the virus, herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1), does selective damage to cancerous tissue. That revelation could point researchers toward ways of exploiting HSV-1 to better fight cancer.
A relative of the herpes virus that causes genital rashes, HSV-1 thrives in many types of cancer cells and can kill them. Patrick W. K. Lee and his group have discovered that the virus replicates most rapidly in cancer cells with particular mutations.