Recent developments its the virus therapy of cancer

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the United States. Although there has been significant progress in the areas of cancer etiology, diagn ostic techniques, and cancer prevention, adequate therapeutic approaches fo r many cancers have lagged behind. One promising line of investigation is t he virus therapy of cancer. This approach entails the use of viruses, such as retroviruses, adenovirus, and vaccinia virus, to modify tumor cells so t hat they become more susceptible to being kilted by the host immune respons e, chemotherapeutic agents, or programmed cell death, This review discusses recent advances in the virus therapy of cancer from both basic science and clinical perspectives, Given the potential of viruses to kill tumor cells directly or transduce desired gene products to allow a vigorous host antitu mor immune response, the virus therapy of cancer holds great promise in the treatment of cancer.