Surfing 'Trojan-horses' stop tumour regrowth after chemotherapy or radiotherap
08 Jan 2013
White blood cells which act as 'Trojan-horses' delivering a tumour-busting virus could stop the spread of cancer after therapy, researchers from the University of Sheffield have found.
World-leading experts have discovered white blood cells called macrophages surge into tumours from the blood after frontline therapies like chemotherapy or radiotherapy, and are now exploiting this to deliver a second potent blow to stop tumours growing back.
They are injecting macrophages carrying a tumour-destroying virus into the bloodstream at the exact moment when this surge occurs so that their 'therapeutic' macrophages can surf this wave and get swept up into the tumour in large numbers.
Each macrophage then releases large amounts of virus inside the tumour.
Using the blood cells as 'Trojan-horses', ensures that the virus is delivered to where it is needed most after frontline therapies – deep into the heart of what's left of the tumour.
The virus then kills the cancer residue from within preventing regrowth or further spread of the cancer to other parts of the body.
