April 12, 2007

Poultry virus may be used to treat human cancer

The Newcastle disease, long a bane for the farming industry, may prove to be a boon for the human health sector.

Newcastle viruses can be genetically engineered to target prostate cancer cells in men, said Dr Elankurmaran Subbiah assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine (VMRCVM).

Prostate cancer is the second most common type of cancer in men, affecting hundreds of thousands of men in the US each year.

Several other oncolytic viruses are also currently being explored to treat cancer.

Subbiah received a US$113,250 grant for their ongoing work using a genetically modified version of the disease to treat prostate cancer in humans.

In the current investigation, Subbiah and his associates are altering the fusion protein of ND to replicate only in the presence of antigens found exclusively in cancerous prostate cells.