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Open AccessCase Report
An Unconventional Case Study of Neoadjuvant Oncolytic Virotherapy for Recurrent Breast Cancer
by
Dubravko Forčić
Dubravko Forčić 1,2,†,
Karmen Mršić
Karmen Mršić 3,†,
Melita Perić-Balja
Melita Perić-Balja 4,
Tihana Kurtović
Tihana Kurtović 1,2
,
Snježana Ramić
Snježana Ramić 4,
Tajana Silovski
Tajana Silovski 5,
Ivo Pedišić
Ivo Pedišić 6,
Ivan Milas
Ivan Milas 7
and
Beata Halassy
Beata Halassy
Beata Halassy, PhD, is a senior scientist and a group leader at the
University of Zagreb’s Centre [...]
Beata Halassy, PhD, is a senior scientist and a group leader at the
University of Zagreb’s Centre for Research and Knowledge Transfer in
Biotechnology with expertise in the field of virology, immunology and
toxinology. Her 19-year-long working experience in the
setting of a pharmaceutical company producing vaccines and antibody
therapeutics shaped her research interests. Her projects are, generally spoken, focused on
understanding the immunogenicity of complex antigens like animal/human viruses and
snake venoms and on the development of passive antibody therapies for the treatment
of envenomation and viral diseases. She has published more than 75 papers in various journals. Her discovery related to antivenom upstream
processing has been protected as a business secret of the former company. The
European and United States patents were granted for the discovery related to
virus purification. During the coronavirus pandemic, she was focused on the
development and introduction of serotherapy for COVID-19 in Croatia. Her latest
research interest is harnessing the power of viruses to fight cancer.
1,2,*
1
Centre for Research and Knowledge Transfer in Biotechnology, University of Zagreb, Zagreb 10000, Croatia
2
Centre of Excellence for Virus Immunology and Vaccines, Zagreb 10000, Croatia
3
Clinical Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital Centre Sestre Milosrdnice, Zagreb 10000, Croatia
4
Clinical Department of Pathology and Cytology “Ljudevit Jurak”, University Hospital Centre Sestre Milosrdnice, Zagreb 10000, Croatia
5
Department of Oncology, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Zagreb 10000, Croatia
6
Radiochirurgia Zagreb, Sveta Nedelja 10431, Croatia
7
University Hospital for Tumors, University Hospital Centre Sestre Milosrdnice, Zagreb 10000, Croatia
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to this work and share first authorship.
Vaccines 2024, 12(9), 958; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines12090958 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 24 July 2024
/
Revised: 20 August 2024
/
Accepted: 21 August 2024
/
Published: 23 August 2024
Abstract
Intratumoural oncolytic virotherapy may have promise as a means to debulk and downstage inoperable tumours in preparation for successful surgery. Here, we describe the unique case of a 50-year-old self-experimenting female virologist with locally recurrent muscle-invasive breast cancer who was able to proceed to simple, non-invasive tumour resection after receiving multiple intratumoural injections of research-grade virus preparations, which first included an Edmonston-Zagreb measles vaccine strain (MeV) and then a vesicular stomatitis virus Indiana strain (VSV), both prepared in her own laboratory. The intratumoural virus therapy was well tolerated. Frequent imaging studies and regular clinical observations documenting size, consistency and mobility of the injected tumour demonstrate that both the MeV- and VSV-containing parts of the protocol contributed to the overall favourable response. Two months after the start of the virus injections, the shrunken tumour was no longer invading the skin or underlying muscle and was surgically excised. The excised tumour showed strong lymphocytic infiltration, with an increase in CD20-positive B cells, CD8-positive T cells and macrophages. PD-L1 expression was detected in contrast to the baseline PD-L1-negative phenotype. The patient completed one-year trastuzumab adjuvant therapy and remains well and recurrence-free 45 months post-surgery. Although an isolated case, it encourages consideration of oncolytic virotherapy as a neoadjuvant treatment modality.
Share and Cite
MDPI and ACS Style
Forčić, D.; Mršić, K.; Perić-Balja, M.; Kurtović, T.; Ramić, S.; Silovski, T.; Pedišić, I.; Milas, I.; Halassy, B.
An Unconventional Case Study of Neoadjuvant Oncolytic Virotherapy for Recurrent Breast Cancer. Vaccines 2024, 12, 958.
https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines12090958
AMA Style
Forčić D, Mršić K, Perić-Balja M, Kurtović T, Ramić S, Silovski T, Pedišić I, Milas I, Halassy B.
An Unconventional Case Study of Neoadjuvant Oncolytic Virotherapy for Recurrent Breast Cancer. Vaccines. 2024; 12(9):958.
https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines12090958
Chicago/Turabian Style
Forčić, Dubravko, Karmen Mršić, Melita Perić-Balja, Tihana Kurtović, Snježana Ramić, Tajana Silovski, Ivo Pedišić, Ivan Milas, and Beata Halassy.
2024. "An Unconventional Case Study of Neoadjuvant Oncolytic Virotherapy for Recurrent Breast Cancer" Vaccines 12, no. 9: 958.
https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines12090958
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