Oncolytic Viruses: A Viable Treatment Option for Treating Cancers

Abstract

Cancer is a disease that is based on the same principles that split species apart over time: evolution. Cancer cells have mutations in them that do not control cell proliferation, and the causes for cancer can come from different places; they could be hereditary or could be from environmental causes like toxic carcinogens. Either way, it is known that cancer is a problem that has been plaguing many species and is a main topic of study in humans. In these studies, new ideas for treatments have developed and even brought to the medical field as treatments, and one such treatment is the use of viruses in aiding to target and destroy cancer cells; these viruses are otherwise known as oncolytic viruses. The goal of this research paper is to evaluate a treatment option that aims to spare patients with cancer diagnoses from having healthy cells affected by the treatment option, something that is not currently offered in current cancer treatment options. This paper will research characteristics oncolytic viruses take advantage of and the mechanisms of these viruses used to target cancer cells. The paper will also investigate treatments that have been approved for treating specific cancers, and whether oncolytic viruses can serve as a viable treatment option to treat cancer soon based on current research done thus far.