Cancer-infecting virus ‘warms up’ cold tumors and improves immunotherapy

Equipping cancer-infecting (oncolytic) viruses with tumor-inhibiting genetic cargo stimulates the immune system and helps immunotherapy to shrink or completely clear aggressive tumors in mice, according to a new study in the Journal of Experimental Medicine led by University of Pittsburgh and UPMC researchers. The results pave the way for clinical trials combining oncolytic viruses with immunotherapy.