Will a Modified Small Pox Virus Kill Cancer Cells?
Solving Kids’ Cancer initiated and funded the first trial in children using JX-594, a virus strain derived from the same vaccine used to eradicate small pox, for children with solid tumors.
Project Title: Vaccinia Virus JX-594 for Relapsed/Refractory Neuroblastoma and Other Pediatric Solid Tumors
Researcher: Timothy Cripe, MD, PhD
Institution: Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Texas Children’s Hospital
Study Type: Phase I clinical trial
Status: Completed
For over 100 years, scientists have reported numerous cases of cancers that were reduced or disappeared after patients contracted certain viruses. Today, scientists are able to genetically modify viruses to be safe, manipulate viruses to stimulate the immune system, and target and kill cancer cells. These are called oncolytic viruses. Solving Kids’ Cancer initiated and funded the first trial for children with solid tumors using JX-594, a virus strain derived from the same vaccine used to eradicate smallpox. JX-594 had been previously tested in 14 clinical trials for adults with cancer showing improvements, including in those whose cancers are resistant to other therapies. Researchers believe that oncolytic viruses, like JX-594, will be an important component in combination with other immunotherapies to put patients into durable remission.
To learn more about this trial, visit clinicaltrials.gov
Charity Partners: Pierce Phillips Charity, The Catherine Elizabeth Blair Memorial Foundation, Make Some Noise Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation