The combination therapy of oncolytic virotherapy

Yue Wang; Mengying Zhu; Huanyu Chi; Yang Liu; Guilin Yu

doi:10.3389/fphar.2024.1380313

The combination therapy of oncolytic virotherapy

Front Pharmacol. 2024 Apr 25:15:1380313. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2024.1380313. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Yue Wang^#¹, Mengying Zhu^{1

2}, Huanyu Chi^{1

3}, Yang Liu⁴, Guilin Yu¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of General Surgery, Cancer Hospital of China Medical University, Liaoning Cancer Hospital & Institute, Shenyang, China.
² Department of Clinical Integration of Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shenyang, China.
³ The Second Clinical College of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China.
⁴ Department of Ophthalmology, First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Introduction: Compared to other cancer immunotherapies, oncolytic viruses possess several advantages, including high killing efficiency, excellent targeting capabilities, minimal adverse reactions, and multiple pathways for tumor destruction. However, the efficacy of oncolytic viruses as a monotherapy often falls short of expectations. Consequently, combining oncolytic viruses with traditional treatments to achieve synergistic effects has emerged as a promising direction for the development of oncolytic virus therapies. Methods: This article provides a comprehensive review of the current progress in preclinical and clinical trials exploring the combination therapies involving oncolytic viruses. Results: Specifically, we discuss the combination of oncolytic viruses with immune checkpoint inhibitors, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and cellular therapy. Discussion: The aim of this review is to offer valuable insights and references for the further advancement of these combination strategies in clinical applications. Further research is necessary to refine the design of combination therapies and explore novel strategies to maximize the therapeutic benefits offered by oncolytic viruses.

Keywords: chemotherapy; combined therapy; cytokine; oncolytic viruses; tumor.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Cultivation Foundation of China of Liaoning Cancer Hospital [grant number 2021-ZLLH-18].