Oncolytic vaccinia virus and cancer immunotherapy

Lihua Xu; Huihui Sun; Nicholas R Lemoine; Yujing Xuan; Pengju Wang

doi:10.3389/fimmu.2023.1324744

Oncolytic vaccinia virus and cancer immunotherapy

Front Immunol. 2024 Jan 12:14:1324744. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1324744. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Lihua Xu¹, Huihui Sun¹, Nicholas R Lemoine^{1

2}, Yujing Xuan¹, Pengju Wang¹

Affiliations

¹ Sino-British Research Centre for Molecular Oncology, National Centre for International Research in Cell and Gene Therapy, State Key Laboratory of Esophageal Cancer Prevention & Treatment, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Academy of Medical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.
² Centre for Biomarkers & Biotherapeutics, Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom.

Abstract

Oncolytic virotherapy (OVT) is a promising form of cancer treatment that uses genetically engineered viruses to replicate within cancer cells and trigger anti-tumor immune response. In addition to killing cancer cells, oncolytic viruses can also remodel the tumor microenvironment and stimulate a long-term anti-tumor immune response. Despite achieving positive results in cellular and organismal studies, there are currently only a few approved oncolytic viruses for clinical use. Vaccinia virus (VACV) has emerged as a potential candidate due to its ability to infect a wide range of cancer cells. This review discusses the mechanisms, benefits, and clinical trials of oncolytic VACVs. The safety and efficacy of different viral backbones are explored, as well as the effects of oncolytic VACVs on the tumor microenvironment. The potential combination of oncolytic VACVs with immunotherapy or traditional therapies is also highlighted. The review concludes by addressing prospects and challenges in the field of oncolytic VACVs, with the aim of promoting further research and application in cancer therapy.

Keywords: cancer immunotherapy; combination therapy; oncolytic virotherapy; tumor microenvironment; vaccinia virus.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Humans
Immunotherapy / methods
Neoplasms*
Oncolytic Virotherapy* / methods
Oncolytic Viruses*
Tumor Microenvironment
Vaccinia virus

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This research was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Henan Province for Excellent Young Scholars (202300410360, PW), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81872486, PW), and the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2019YFC1316101, PW).