German Researchers Produce Anti-Tumor Virus

macygrace

http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=2&hl=en&ie=UTF8&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http://www.rtl.de/cms/news/rtl-aktuell/kampf-gegen-krebs-deutsche-forscher-erzeugen-anti-tumor-viren-2a7f3-51ca-14-1377952.html&usg=ALkJrhitGEWm1Rz_PdTmIWJzhTS1h4o2_w 

cp418

http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=3&hl=en&ie=UTF8&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http://www.rtl.de/cms/news/rtl-aktuell/kampf-gegen-krebs-deutsche-forscher-erzeugen-anti-tumor-viren-2a7f3-51ca-14-1377952.html&usg=ALkJrhj8yDUU5ZnFSUo0fd7foHaolRVwIA

This link was translated from German article site.

cp418

The windows on BC Org site are weird now.  Maybe due to all the JAVA hacking in the news lately.

macygrace

I don't know what's cooking cp418. I copied the info from the article and sent it to my own e-mail. It translates the article from German to English every other sentence. I back spaced off the German and left in the English so people can read it. Here goes nothing!

Harmless measles virus used as a vaccine

 A diagnosis of cancer is despite ongoing medical research and various methods of treatment in most cases, a death sentence for the sufferer.  Now there is an advance in the fight against this deadly disease, the hope is: For the first time, researchers from the Paul-Ehrlich-Institute succeeded in generating anti-tumor viruses that infect and kill cancer stem cells specifically. The research team led by Professor Christian Buchholz, head of the PEI Working Group on Molecular Biology and Gene Therapy ', modified an attenuated measles virus and thus harmless, which is used as a vaccine virus. For the targeted attack on the cancer stem cells. Researchers are modified so that it is required for the CD133 surface protein as a receptor for the entry into the cell.  This protein is regarded as a characteristic marker of cancer stem cells.  The researchers were able to demonstrate that the modified virus actually infects only cells in cell mixtures with this surface protein.

Problem: Many people are vaccinated against measles virus

 In collaboration with the University of Heidelberg and the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), the researchers tested the anti-tumor effect of its targeted virus in animal studies with a mouse. It showed the modified virus a potent activity against the tumor. Tumor growth was reduced or even completely suppressed. 
Tumor cells usually speak not all equally sensitive to the different cancer therapies. Instead, scientists suspect that many types of tumors contain cancer stem cells. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy are usually not very effective against these cancer stem cells, which are probably also responsible for the development of metastases.  Intensive researchers are looking for ways to identify these cells and fight. 
Up of the new findings is a drug, it will still take a while. About five million German are ill with cancer, every year about 450,000 now.  Since many people are vaccinated against measles virus, and thus immune, remains to be seen whether the method of therapy in humans is really successful.

cp418

Yes, nearly every child is vaccinated against Measles.  So what would be the efficacy of this measles vaccine and why did they choose this particlular virus considering wide spread vaccination for it?  So more questions but it certainly sounds promising going after stem cells! 

Heidihill

Much less so in Europe in terms of measles vaccination.