oncolytic virus

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

a virus — naturally occurring or genetically engineered — that selectively infects and kills cancer cells while leaving normal cells relatively unharmed, and that can also stimulate immune responses against the tumour; oncolytic viruses exploit the metabolic and signalling abnormalities of cancer cells — including defects in antiviral responses — to replicate preferentially within tumours, causing direct tumour cell lysis and releasing tumour antigens that activate systemic anti-tumour immunity; talimogene laherparepvec — T-VEC — an oncolytic herpes simplex virus engineered to produce GM-CSF, was the first oncolytic virus approved by the FDA in 2015 for the treatment of melanoma; numerous other oncolytic viruses are in clinical development, including vaccinia, adenovirus, reovirus, and Newcastle disease virus variants, often combined with checkpoint inhibitors to enhance systemic immune activation beyond the directly injected tumour