British doctors successfully treated cancer patients with the help of a genetically modified herpes virus. The diseases they treated included cancers of the mouth, tongue and throat.
The Daily Mail reported that this method was more effective at killing tumours in combination with radiotherapy and chemotherapy than standard treatments.
Side effects like fever and fatigue are commonly associated with radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Study participants noted no severe side effects that were associated with the herpes virus. An added plus, patients who were given this treatment were not infected with herpes.
Study leader Dr Kevin Harrington said: "The virus has been genetically modified so that it is no longer able to cause cold sores. The genes that normally allow the virus to hide in the body and pop out later – called latent infection – have been removed so the virus can no longer do that."
Researchers also found that this treatment helped stimulate the patient’s immune system. The journal Clinical Cancer Research reported only two of 13 patients who received this treatment had a relapse after two years. This is an impressive rate given that the usual relapse rate for these types of cancer is anywhere from 35 to 55% after two years.