Measles Virus A recent study has discovered that a particular measles virus vaccine strain derivatives, MV-CEA, could probably treat prostate cancer patients. This type of viro-therapy treatment may be able to infect, replicate and abolish the prostate cancer cells.

Prostate cancer is said to be the leading cause of male death in the western world. It is stated that at present a curative therapy is not available for locally advanced or meta-static prostate cancer.

The MV-CEA strain is said to have yielded significant results when tested on mice. The median survival rate is said to have increased by 50 percent in comparison to the control mice. A complete tumor regression was also noticed in about one fifth of the studied animals.

Study author, Evanthia Galanis, MD, Mayo Clinic, says that, “Based on our preclinical results as well as the safety of measles derivatives in clinical trials against other tumor types, these viral strains could represent excellent candidates for clinical testing against advanced prostate cancer, including androgen resistant tumors.”

Through ultrasound-guided needle injections, this viro-therapy agent can be applied directly to the tumor affected area. The affected area can be monitored through various non-invasive methodologies like ultrasound and MRI.

This innovative therapeutic approach against cancer does not create any hurdles in the path of the present cancer treatments. Thus it is believed that this type of approach can be used in combination with the conventional treatment methods.

Over a period of four decades, the measles vaccine doses have been used on innumerable people; thus they are safe for usage. It is stated that so far there has been no toxicity from MV-CEA treatment of patient’s with other forms of tumors.

These results prompted the initiation of three currently running clinical trials. The investigators are very hopeful of the capability of their results.

Their findings are published in The Prostate.