Advanced Research in Oncogenic Viruses and Cancer

Dear Colleagues,

The classical approach to the treatment of oncological diseases is still based on surgical removal of the tumor as a whole or during cytoreductive and palliative operations, radiation therapy using ionizing radiation and the use of chemotherapeutic drugs, as well as various combinations of these methods. New modern technologies with minimally invasive therapeutic effects on tumors have significantly expanded the possibilities of traditional methods of therapy. Thanks to this, it has already been possible to increase the effectiveness of treatment and increase a person's chances of recovery in such types of tumor diseases, at the early stages of some forms of prostate cancer, cervical cancer and tumors in the gastrointestinal tract.

Nevertheless, despite some successes from traditional methods of treatment in the field of oncotherapy and reduction in mortality from certain types of malignant neoplasms, classical methods of therapy are not good enough for effective treatment, and the effectiveness of antitumor therapy is not high enough.

One of the modern directions of oncotherapy is virotherapy—a promising and relatively new promising approach in the treatment of tumors using oncolytic viruses to fight cancer, which combines elements of popular targeted therapy and immunotherapy.

Oncolytic viruses are natural viruses or modified infectious agents that are able to selectively destroy tumor cells, with minimal toxicity to normal healthy tissues.

Oncolytic viruses are able to directly destroy malignant cells, infecting and effectively multiplying in them. After the release of the viral progeny, new viral particles spread to neighboring tumor cells, involving an increasing number of malignant cells in destruction and leading to cell lysis. In addition to the direct lysis of cancer cells, oncolytic viruses can cause activation of the immune response of the body and stimulate pro-inflammatory cytokines with activation of cytotoxic T–lymphocytes, macrophages and natural killers—participants in the response of innate and acquired immunity. Virus-mediated activation of the immune system is a very important and effective component in the fight against tumor disease. In this case, they talk about an indirect virus-mediated effect on tumors.

In addition to the "direct" lytic and mediated immune action of oncolytic viruses on tumor cells, other possible antitumor effects of oncolytic viruses are described in published scientific papers. In a number of research papers and a series of clinical trials, it has been shown that after virotherapy, there is an increase in sensitivity to chemotherapeutic drugs and radiation therapy of previously resistant tumor tissue, which leads to impressive results when using virotherapy in combination with standard treatment. Another variant of the virus-mediated effect on the inhibition of tumor progression is the destruction of blood vessels in the tumor or the effect on the processes of angiogenesis in tumor tissue.

In this regard, the problem of studying oncolytic viruses and their use as a basis for therapeutic drugs is an urgent scientific task.

• Dear colleagues, make sure that your article meets the general requirements of the journal. You can check the scope in the journal menu: Aims and Scope. Additionally, the scope should not be too broad or too narrow. The purpose of our Special Issue is to provide information about the study and use of oncolytic viruses to fight cancer. Any new information related to oncolytic viruses will be welcome for selection in our Special Issue.
• In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following: Original research articles and reviews. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following: the study of the oncolytic properties of viruses, the mechanisms of oncolysis in cell culture, on experimental tumors in laboratory animals, the results of preclinical and clinical trials of drugs based on oncolytic viruses, the results of the use of drugs based on oncolytic viruses in clinical practice.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Kind regards,

Prof. Dr. Alexander Shestopalov
Dr. Kseniya Yurchenko
Dr. Marina Gulyaeva
Guest Editors

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• tumor
• oncolytic virus
• oncolysis
• tumor cell cultures
• experimental tumors