The first published report to establish a link between infection with a virus and the regression of cancer appeared in 1912. Reviewed in [1-6] This report described a woman whose cervical cancer improved following treatment to prevent rabies. The woman had been bitten by a dog, and she was subsequently injected with a vaccine made of attenuated (i.e., weakened) rabies virus. Over the next 60 years, many other viruses, including Newcastle disease virus (NDV), were shown to have anticancer potential.[7-12] Reviewed in [1,3-6,13-24] The first report of positive results using NDV as a treatment for human cancer was published in 1964.[9] By that time, attenuated strains of NDV had been used for almost 2 decades to prevent Newcastle disease in birds, and the inability of this virus to cause serious illness in humans had been established.

As indicated previously (General Information section), cells infected with NDV can be killed directly by the virus or indirectly through an immune system response to the infection. The immune system uses a variety of approaches to kill virus-infected cells, including attack by cytotoxic cells (i.e., natural killer cells and/or cytotoxic T cells); attack by antivirus antibodies, which are made by B cells; and the release of cytokines. Reviewed in [2,6,15,18,22,25-27]

Cytokines can be directly cytotoxic to virus-infected cells (e.g., tumor necrosis factor [TNF] -alpha Reviewed in [14,15,20]). In addition, they can stimulate increases in the activity and/or numbers of specific types of immune system cells (e.g., interferon -alpha, interferon-gamma, and TNF-alpha Reviewed in [2,28-30]).

As also indicated previously (General Information section), if the immune system is responding to virus-infected cancer cells (or fragments of cancer cells), then better recognition of tumor-specific antigens may occur, and an increased ability to kill uninfected cancer cells may be acquired. Reviewed in [15,18,19,23,25,29,31-36] The immune system would use the same approaches to kill uninfected cancer cells that it uses to kill virus-infected cells. For example, it has been shown that TNF-alpha is directly cytotoxic to some, but not all, cancer cells, whereas normal cells are not harmed by this cytokine.[37-40]

Understanding Cancer Series: The Immune System.

References

1. Nelson NJ: Scientific interest in Newcastle disease virus is reviving. J Natl Cancer Inst 91 (20): 1708-10, 1999.  [PUBMED Abstract]
   
   
2. Csatary LK, Eckhardt S, Bukosza I, et al.: Attenuated veterinary virus vaccine for the treatment of cancer. Cancer Detect Prev 17 (6): 619-27, 1993.  [PUBMED Abstract]
   
   
3. Nemunaitis J: Oncolytic viruses yesterday and today. J Oncol Manag 8 (5): 14-24, 1999. 
   
   
4. Webb HE, Smith CE: Viruses in the treatment of cancer. Lancet 1 (7658): 1206-8, 1970.  [PUBMED Abstract]
   
   
5. Ahlert T, Schirrmacher V: Isolation of a human melanoma adapted Newcastle disease virus mutant with highly selective replication patterns. Cancer Res 50 (18): 5962-8, 1990.  [PUBMED Abstract]
   
   
6. Sinkovics J, Horvath J: New developments in the virus therapy of cancer: a historical review. Intervirology 36 (4): 193-214, 1993.  [PUBMED Abstract]
   
   
7. Cassel WA, Garrett RE: Newcastle disease virus as an antineoplastic agent. Cancer 18: 863-8, 1965. 
   
   
8. Eaton MD, Heller JA, Scala AR: Enhancement of lymphoma cell immunogenicity by infection with nononcogenic virus. Cancer Res 33 (12): 3293-8, 1973.  [PUBMED Abstract]
   
   
9. Wheelock EF, Dingle JH: Observations on the repeated administration of viruses to a patient with acute leukemia. A preliminary report. N Engl J Med 271(13): 645-51, 1964. 
   
   
10. Flanagan AD, Love R, Tesar W: Propagation of Newcastle disease virus in Ehrlich ascites cells in vitro and in vivo. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med 90: 82-6, 1955. 
    
    
11. Sinkovics JG, Howe CD: Superinfection of tumors with viruses. Experientia 25 (7): 733-4, 1969.  [PUBMED Abstract]
    
    
12. Eaton MD, Levinthal JD, Scala AR: Contribution of antiviral immunity to oncolysis by Newcastle disease virus in a murine lymphoma. J Natl Cancer Inst 39 (6): 1089-97, 1967.  [PUBMED Abstract]
    
    
13. Csatary LK, Moss RW, Beuth J, et al.: Beneficial treatment of patients with advanced cancer using a Newcastle disease virus vaccine (MTH-68/H). Anticancer Res 19 (1B): 635-8, 1999 Jan-Feb.  [PUBMED Abstract]
    
    
14. Kenney S, Pagano JS: Viruses as oncolytic agents: a new age for "therapeutic" viruses? J Natl Cancer Inst 86 (16): 1185-6, 1994.  [PUBMED Abstract]
    
    
15. Kirn DH, McCormick F: Replicating viruses as selective cancer therapeutics. Mol Med Today 2 (12): 519-27, 1996.  [PUBMED Abstract]
    
    
16. Lorence RM, Reichard KW, Katubig BB, et al.: Complete regression of human neuroblastoma xenografts in athymic mice after local Newcastle disease virus therapy. J Natl Cancer Inst 86 (16): 1228-33, 1994.  [PUBMED Abstract]
    
    
17. Lorence RM, Katubig BB, Reichard KW, et al.: Complete regression of human fibrosarcoma xenografts after local Newcastle disease virus therapy. Cancer Res 54 (23): 6017-21, 1994.  [PUBMED Abstract]
    
    
18. Reichard KW, Lorence RM, Cascino CJ, et al.: Newcastle disease virus selectively kills human tumor cells. J Surg Res 52 (5): 448-53, 1992.  [PUBMED Abstract]
    
    
19. Schirrmacher V, Ahlert T, Pröbstle T, et al.: Immunization with virus-modified tumor cells. Semin Oncol 25 (6): 677-96, 1998.  [PUBMED Abstract]
    
    
20. Lorence RM, Rood PA, Kelley KW: Newcastle disease virus as an antineoplastic agent: induction of tumor necrosis factor-alpha and augmentation of its cytotoxicity. J Natl Cancer Inst 80 (16): 1305-12, 1988.  [PUBMED Abstract]
    
    
21. Schirrmacher V, Haas C, Bonifer R, et al.: Human tumor cell modification by virus infection: an efficient and safe way to produce cancer vaccine with pleiotropic immune stimulatory properties when using Newcastle disease virus. Gene Ther 6 (1): 63-73, 1999.  [PUBMED Abstract]
    
    
22. Sinkovics JG, Horvath JC: Newcastle disease virus (NDV): brief history of its oncolytic strains. J Clin Virol 16 (1): 1-15, 2000.  [PUBMED Abstract]
    
    
23. Shoham J, Hirsch R, Zakay-Rones Z, et al.: Augmentation of tumor cell immunogenicity by viruses--an approach to specific immunotherapy of cancer. Nat Immun Cell Growth Regul 9 (3): 165-72, 1990.  [PUBMED Abstract]
    
    
24. Csatary LK: Viruses in the treatment of cancer. Lancet 2 (7728): 825, 1971.  [PUBMED Abstract]
    
    
25. Schirrmacher V, Ahlert T, Heicappell R, et al.: Successful application of non-oncogenic viruses for antimetastatic cancer immunotherapy. Cancer Rev 5: 19-49, 1986. 
    
    
26. Cooper NR, Nemerow GR: The role of antibody and complement in the control of viral infections. J Invest Dermatol 83 (1 Suppl): 121s-127s, 1984.  [PUBMED Abstract]
    
    
27. Alberts B, Bray D, Lewis J, et al.: Molecular Biology of the Cell. 3rd ed. New York, NY: Garland Publishing, 1994. 
    
    
28. Zorn U, Dallmann I, Grosse J, et al.: Induction of cytokines and cytotoxicity against tumor cells by Newcastle disease virus. Cancer Biother 9 (3): 225-35, 1994 Fall.  [PUBMED Abstract]
    
    
29. DeVita VT Jr, Hellman S, Rosenberg SA, eds.: Cancer: Principles and Practice of Oncology. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Lippincott-Raven Publishers, 1997. 
    
    
30. von Hoegen P, Zawatzky R, Schirrmacher V: Modification of tumor cells by a low dose of Newcastle disease virus. III. Potentiation of tumor-specific cytolytic T cell activity via induction of interferon-alpha/beta. Cell Immunol 126 (1): 80-90, 1990.  [PUBMED Abstract]
    
    
31. Haas C, Ertel C, Gerhards R, et al.: Introduction of adhesive and costimulatory immune functions into tumor cells by infection with Newcastle Disease Virus. Int J Oncol 13 (6): 1105-15, 1998.  [PUBMED Abstract]
    
    
32. Cassel WA, Murray DR: A ten-year follow-up on stage II malignant melanoma patients treated postsurgically with Newcastle disease virus oncolysate. Med Oncol Tumor Pharmacother 9 (4): 169-71, 1992.  [PUBMED Abstract]
    
    
33. Heicappell R, Schirrmacher V, von Hoegen P, et al.: Prevention of metastatic spread by postoperative immunotherapy with virally modified autologous tumor cells. I. Parameters for optimal therapeutic effects. Int J Cancer 37 (4): 569-77, 1986.  [PUBMED Abstract]
    
    
34. Zorn U, Duensing S, Langkopf F, et al.: Active specific immunotherapy of renal cell carcinoma: cellular and humoral immune responses. Cancer Biother Radiopharm 12 (3): 157-65, 1997.  [PUBMED Abstract]
    
    
35. Plaksin D, Porgador A, Vadai E, et al.: Effective anti-metastatic melanoma vaccination with tumor cells transfected with MHC genes and/or infected with Newcastle disease virus (NDV). Int J Cancer 59 (6): 796-801, 1994.  [PUBMED Abstract]
    
    
36. Bier H, Armonat G, Bier J, et al.: Postoperative active-specific immunotherapy of lymph node micrometastasis in a guinea pig tumor model. ORL J Otorhinolaryngol Relat Spec 51 (4): 197-205, 1989.  [PUBMED Abstract]
    
    
37. Helson L, Green S, Carswell E, et al.: Effect of tumour necrosis factor on cultured human melanoma cells. Nature 258 (5537): 731-2, 1975.  [PUBMED Abstract]
    
    
38. Haranaka K, Satomi N: Cytotoxic activity of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) on human cancer cells in vitro. Jpn J Exp Med 51 (3): 191-4, 1981.  [PUBMED Abstract]
    
    
39. Sugarman BJ, Aggarwal BB, Hass PE, et al.: Recombinant human tumor necrosis factor-alpha: effects on proliferation of normal and transformed cells in vitro. Science 230 (4728): 943-5, 1985.  [PUBMED Abstract]
    
    
40. Fransen L, Van der Heyden J, Ruysschaert R, et al.: Recombinant tumor necrosis factor: its effect and its synergism with interferon-gamma on a variety of normal and transformed human cell lines. Eur J Cancer Clin Oncol 22 (4): 419-26, 1986.  [PUBMED Abstract]
    
    

Back to Top

< Previous Section  |  Next Section >