A genetically engineered virus has stopped pancreatic tumors from growing in three patients in an early US clinical trial. The results come from a safety study led by researchers at the University of Minnesota.
The first patient received the treatment a year ago after diagnosis of a 7-centimeter tumor confined to the pancreas. The other two patients were treated later, and all three remain alive with stable disease, according to Masato Yamamoto, who led development of the therapy. Only one-tenth of the planned dose was used in this initial phase, yet tumors have not spread or enlarged since injection.
