May 19: Measles vaccine has wiped out cancer in a 49-year old Minnesota woman. The woman was part of a clinical study at Mayo Clinic to show that cancerous cells can be destroyed by use of a genetically-engineered virus in a process called ‘virotherapy’.
Two patients were involved in the study where each of them received one dose of the engineered measles virus that is toxic to only the myeloma plasma cells.
Stacy Erholtz from Minnesota has been having multiple myeloma for ten years and after receiving the dose she has been clear of the cells for six months. Stacy said that the method is the easiest she has encountered so far with very few side effects.
Myeloma is a form of cancer that affects plasma cells in the bone marrow which leads to soft tissue tumors. Immune stimulating medications are prescribed to patients with this cancer but with time they become ineffective.
Mayo Clinic hematologist, Dr. Steven Russell who headed the study, says that some viruses act as vaccines. Once injected into tumors they provoke the body’s immune system to destroy the tumors.
Rusell said that this method directly puts a virus into the blood stream; it infects and kills the cancer cells, the body immune system then come and removes the residue.
The multiple myeloma women were picked because their immune system was weak, it couldn’t fight off measles virus before it had had time to destroy the cancer. Their previous encounter with measles was limited meaning they had few antibodies which could fight the virus.
Doctors were able to remove Stacy’s cancer cells, the cancer returned to the other patient after nine months. However, studies on the second patient showed that the administered virus targeted sites with tumor growth.
Researchers are moving the research into the next level where they will involve more patients and seek approval from US Food and Drug Administration
