From 'The Press and Journal', Wednesday 10th March 2010:

Scientists have made a breakthrough in the search for new treatments for the cancer which kills nearly 1,000 men in Scotland every year.

Patients were given a “tame virus” which destroyed prostate cancer cells but spared healthy tissue.

The results were welcomed last night by survivors and experts in the north-east, who said they could lead to a completely new way of treating a cancer which affects more men north of the border than any other.

Sam McClinton, consultant urologist at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and founder of the UCAN charity, said it was a “promising” step which could offer new hope to patients – particularly those whose cancer was detected too late to respond to other therapies.

Read more: Link to full article in 'The Press and Journal'

From Behind The Headlines - Virus 'Kills Prostate Cancer', NHS Choices website, Wednesday 10th March 2010:

This is early research on a new treatment for prostate cancer. It is worth noting that:

• The virus has already been tested, and shown some success, in treatment for other cancers. This means that the route to clinical use may be shorter for this treatment indication but it will not get around the fact that many more patients will need to be tested in rigorous trials to see if the treatment is better than current alternatives.
• The treatment seemed to have very few side effects, which is a positive sign for a cancer treatment.
• The researchers acknowledge that it is unfortunate that the reovirus did not seem to infect non-cancerous tissue after the injection as this means that it is unlikely that the virus could spread to other areas of the prostate cancer and kill these, in the same patient.

 

Overall, this report shows another type of cancer that may respond to the reovirus treatment. More studies in many more patients will be needed to decide if the new treatment has a place and where that place might be among existing treatments for prostate cancer.

Read more: Link to full article on the NHS Choices website