Virus wipes out cancer cells

Human trials of a virus that kills cancer cells in mice without harming healthy cells is at least two years away, British researchers said.

An adenovirus that causes chest infections was modified to deliver genetic therapy to liver tumors in mice without poisoning healthy tissue, said Leonard Seymour, a cancer researcher at the University of Oxford.

The approach we developed is easy to use and flexible, Seymour said. It may help in the development of future therapeutic viruses that are specific to certain disease sites.

While the research is promising, human trials are costly and Seymour’s team has yet to find the money to fund future research, he told The Daily Telegraph in a story published Friday.

Modified viruses already have proven valuable in creating vaccines for measles, mumps, polio, influenza, and chicken pox.