Measles virus used to treat bone marrow cancer

The paper has reported on a new study in the growing field of virotherapy – a treatment where viruses are used to attack diseases. The study was a proof of concept study, involving people with multiple myeloma – a type of cancer that affects plasma cells, which are made in bone marrow. The cancerous cells are usually spread throughout the bone marrow, but can also form tumours. The article reports on two women who were given an infusion of a high dose of a modified measles virus that could specifically recognise the myeloma cells. The researchers wanted the virus to infect and kill the cancerous cells, but leave the normal cells untouched. Six weeks after treatment, both women had no cancerous cells. One of the women also had all of the solid tumour clumps in her body shrink within six weeks of starting the treatment, with the effect appearing to last over a...