Pioneering research and new treatments
Support Casper funds research into oncolytic virotherapy and immunotherapy. Oncolytic viruses are designed to recognise and kill tumour cells while leaving healthy cells and tissues unharmed. As well as attacking cancer cells directly, they can alert the immune system and help it clear those cells. The approach may ultimately benefit people with pancreatic cancer and other cancers including prostate cancer, bladder cancer and glioblastoma.
Immunotherapy
Over the past thirty years, researchers have made enormous progress in understanding the complex interaction between tumours and the immune system. This knowledge has led to immunotherapies that activate innate and adaptive immune responses, helping the body control or destroy cancer cells. Several such treatments are already approved and have improved survival for people with aggressive cancers including melanoma, lung cancer and prostate cancer.
Virotherapy
Virotherapy is a promising way to treat a wide range of cancers. The viruses selectively infect cancer cells and spare the surrounding healthy tissue. Researchers can modify them in the laboratory to target particular tumour types and produce substances that destroy infected cancer cells.
This approach is already at an advanced stage of research for several cancers. With funding from Support Casper, four prototype viruses are now being studied for pancreatic cancer. Researchers are examining how effectively each virus kills tumour cells and stimulates the immune system to clear them. The viruses must be optimised and tested further in pancreatic cancer models, while their safety for patients, close contacts, the wider environment and animals must be carefully established. Combining improved oncolytic viruses with immunotherapy could ultimately create a new treatment option for people with pancreatic cancer.
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