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Written By: Editorial Team | Updated : May 19, 2014 1:07 PM IST
49-year-old Stacy Erholtz recovered from Myeloma (a type of cancer) and experienced remission after a single intravenous dose of the engineered measles! Thanks to virotherapy, a mode of therapy in which a virus which is specially engineered infects and kills cancer cells but spares normal tissues.
'It is a very simple concept. Viruses naturally come into the body and they destroy tissue,' said lead author Stephen Russel from Mayo Clinic Molecular Medicine. 'Two patients underwent the treatment and both responded, showing reduction of both bone marrow cancer and myeloma protein,' said researchers from Minnesota-based Mayo Clinic.
The patients received a single intravenous dose of an engineered measles virus (MV-NIS) that is selectively toxic to myeloma plasma cells. One patient, 49-year-old Stacy Erholtz, experienced complete remission of myeloma and has been clear of the disease for over six months, the study maintained. The study provides the first well-documented case of a patient with disseminated cancer having a complete remission at all disease sites after virus administration.
Multiple myeloma is a cancer of plasma cells in the bone marrow which also causes skeletal or soft tissue tumours. This cancer usually responds to immune system-stimulating drugs but eventually overcomes them and is rarely cured. The findings were published in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
What is cancer?
Cancer is a group of over one hundred diseases characterized by abnormal, uncontrolled cell growth. In a healthy body cells grow, die and are replaced in a very controlled way. Damage or change in the genetic material of cells by environmental or internal factors result in cells that don't die and continue to multiply until a massive cancer or a tumour develops. Most cancer related deaths are due to metastasis, malignant cells that penetrate into the circulatory system and establish colonies in other parts of the body. Great advancements have been made but cancer is still leading cause of death for people under 85.
What is measles?
Measles is a highly contagious, serious disease caused by a virus. In 1980, before widespread vaccination, measles caused an estimated 2.6 million deaths each year. It remains one of the leading causes of death among young children globally, despite the availability of a safe and effective vaccine. An estimated 139 300 people died from measles in 2010 mostly children under the age of five. Measles is caused by a virus in the paramyxovirus family. The measles virus normally grows in the cells that line the back of the throat and lungs. Measles is a human disease and is not known to occur in animals. Accelerated immunization activities have had a major impact on reducing measles deaths. From 2001 to 2011 more than one billion children aged 9 months to 14 years who live in high risk countries were vaccinated against the disease. Global measles deaths have decreased by 74% from 535 300 in 2000 to 139 300 in 2010.
With inputs from IANS
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