Oncolytic virotherapy for ovarian cancer

colytic virotherapy for ovarian cancer Review (1378) Total Article Views Authors: Li SD, Tong J, Rahman MM, Shepherd TG, McFadden G Published Date August 2012 Volume 2012:1 Pages 1 - 21 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/OV.S31626 Received: 04 May 2012 Accepted: 18 July 2012 Published: 23 August 2012 Shoudong Li,1 Jessica Tong,2,3 Masmudur M Rahman,1 Trevor G Shepherd,2,3 Grant McFadden1 1Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA; 2Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; 3Translational Ovarian Cancer Research Program, London Health Sciences Centre, London, Ontario, Canada Abstract: In the past two decades, more than 20 viruses with selective tropism for tumor cells have been developed as oncolytic viruses (OVs) for treatments of a variety of malignancies. Of these viruses, eleven have been tested in human ovarian cancer models in preclinical studies. So far, nine phase I or II clinical trials have been conducted or initiated using four different types of OVs in patients with recurrent ovarian cancers. In this article, we summarize the different OVs that are being assessed as therapeutics for ovarian cancer. We also present an overview of recent advances in identification of key genetic or immune-response pathways involved in tumorigenesis of ovarian cancer, which provides a better understanding of the tumor specificities and oncolytic properties of OVs. In addition, we discuss how next-generation OVs could be genetically modified or integrated into multimodality regimens to improve clinical outcomes based on recent advances in ovarian cancer biology.