Background
tumor, Cancer
VIRUS, TUMOR, SOLID TUMORS, VACCINIA, CANCER
Edited by: Christophe Blanquart, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), FranceReviewed by: Fonteneau Jean-francois, UMR1307 Centre de Recherche en Cancérologie et Immunologie Intégré Nantes Angers (CRCI2NA) (INSERM), France; Luciano Castiello, National Institute of Health (ISS), Italy†These authors have contributed equally to this work and share first authorshipThis article was submitted to Cancer Immunity and Immunotherapy, a section of the journal Frontiers in ImmunologyThe attenuated, genetically engineered vaccinia virus has been shown to be a promising oncolytic virus for the treatment of patients with solid tumors, through both direct cytotoxic and immune-activating effects. Whereas systemically administered oncolytic viruses can be neutralized by pre-existing antibodies, locoregionally administered viruses can infect tumor cells and generate immune responses. We conducted a phase I clinical trial to investigate the safety, feasibility and immune activating effects of intrapleural administration of oncolytic vaccinia virus (NCT01766739).