St. Luke's Cancer Center has enrolled its first patient in a new
clinical trial aimed at treating advanced melanoma, the most deadly form
of skin cancer. It's the first Cancer center in the world to offer Phase II oncolytic viral therapy to patients.
Takara Bio, Inc., a Japanese biotechnology company, developed the
therapy, which uses viruses to destroy Cancer cells, the news release
says.
"This promising therapy uses the injectable strain of the Herpes
simplex virus, HF10, to destroy Cancer cells and produce an anti-tumor
immune response," the health network says in the release. "Since the
study is Phase II, patients still receive the standard-of-care therapy
for advanced melanoma."
Dr. Sanjiv Agarwala, chief of medical oncology and hematology for St.
Luke's, said in a statement that there was no effective treatment for
advanced melanoma until about five years ago.
"Then, we cracked the code," he said. "We began to look at the immune
system and target cells that attack melanoma cells. Some of the
treatments turn on cells that fight Cancer and others prevent cells that
fight the disease from being turned off."
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