Herpes is a curse for most people, but it may be a blessing for some.
A new cancer treatment that employs a modified form of the virus to attack tumors has completely cleared a London man’s cancer of the salivary glands.
The drug, called RP2, has proven to have promising effects in early clinical trials abroad.
39-year-old survivor Krzysztof Wojkowski said. BBC he was preparing to die when he heard about it Investigational new drugwas available through a Phase 1 safety trial at the UK Cancer Institute.
Despite trying other treatments, his cancer continued to grow, so he gave it a chance. Now Wojkowski claims to be cancer-free for two years.
RP2 is a weakened form of herpes simplex (the virus that causes cold sores) that has been modified to infect only tumors. Unlike other anticancer drugs, it is injected directly into the tumor.
Once in the body, the virus will self-replicate until the cancer cells explode. At the same time, they rally their immune system to attack what’s left. According to the principal investigator Kevin Harrington.
RP2 Works similarly to T-Vec, which is also designed based on the herpes simplex virus.approved by treat advanced skin cancer In 2015, the drug contains genes that stimulate the production of immune cells that prepare the immune system to attack.
“If you have heavily pretreated tumors that respond well to RP2 and T-Vec, that’s more to think about in the sense that you have tumors that are resistant and responsive to treatment.” Non-participating Moffitt Cancer Centers told an insider.
Wojkowski is living cancer-free, but other patients in the UK trial had less dramatic results. Most people saw their tumors shrink and experienced only mild side effects such as fatigue.
3 of 9 participants who received study drug alone and 7 of 30 participants who received combination therapy appeared to benefit from RP2.
“There will be some more studies in the near future. I’m excited. I won’t be disappointed or skeptical,” Zager added.
