( reated with both agents test animals e...)Dealing deadly cancers a knockout punch

reated with both agents, test animals experienced enhanced tumor regression compared with either agent alone, and without additional toxicity. Oncolytics has permission from the U.K. regulatory authorities to test Reolysin in three separate human trials in combination with the cancer drugs gemcitabine, paclitaxel/carboplatin and docetaxel.

Perhaps the most exciting findings of Reolysin combination therapy were reported at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting in April, 2007. In mice transplanted with a human colon cancer, Reolysin plus gemcitabine completely eradicated the tumors in four of five test animals. It is rare to see the virtual elimination of tumours as well as the long-lasting therapeutic effect that was observed in this study.

"Combination therapy results for reovirus in animals are particularly encouraging because they suggest that Reolysin can improve the anti-tumor activity of standard chemotherapy agents in advanced cancer patients without causing additional toxicity," said Dr. Karl Mettinger, Chief Medical Officer of Oncolytics.

Physicians often prefer to treat cancer with multiple agents, but toxicity limits these approaches. Since reovirus typically is not pathogenic in humans nor associated with severe toxicity in clinical studies, its co-administration is not expected to increase a treatment's overall toxicity.

Dual Mechanism

Reovirus works by entering and replicating within cancer cells containing an activated ras pathway, a mutation present in about two-thirds of all human cancers. Reovirus enters a cancer cell, makes thousands of copies of itself, and then causes the cell to burst, which releases viruses that infect and kill adjacent cancer cells. Normal cells are not harmed.

In addition to killing cancer cells directly, reovirus is believed to activate an anti-tumor immune response through the body's natural killer cells and T cells. Through this mech
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Source:Oncolytics Biotech Inc.

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