Treating cancer as an infectious disease--viral antigens as novel targets for treatment and potential prevention of tumors of viral etiology.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Nearly 20% of human cancers worldwide have an infectious etiology with the most prominent examples being hepatitis B and C virus-associated hepatocellular carcinoma and human papilloma virus-associated cervical cancer. There is an urgent need to find new approaches to treatment and prevention of virus-associated cancers.

METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:

Viral antigens have not been previously considered as targets for treatment or prevention of virus-associated cancers. We hypothesized that it was possible to treat experimental HPV16-associated cervical cancer (CC) and Hepatitis B-associated hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by targeting viral antigens expressed on cancer cells with radiolabeled antibodies to viral antigens. Treatment of experimental CC and HCC tumors with (188)Re-labeled mAbs to E6 and HBx viral proteins, respectively, resulted in significant and dose-dependent retardation of tumor growth in comparison with untreated mice or mice treated with unlabeled antibodies.

CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE:

This strategy is fundamentally different from the prior uses of radioimmunotherapy in oncology, which targeted tumor-associated human antigens and promises increased specificity and minimal toxicity of treatment. It also raises an exciting possibility to prevent virus-associated cancers in chronically infected patients by eliminating cells infected with oncogenic viruses before they transform into cancer.

• Authors: Xing Guo Wang, Ekaterina Revskaya, Ruth A Bryan, Howard D Strickler, Robert D Burk, Arturo Casadevall, Ekaterina Dadachova
• Journal: PloS one (PLoS One) Vol. 2 Issue 10 Pg. e1114 (Oct 31 2007) ISSN: 1932-6203 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 17971877 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Antigens, Viral

Topics

• Animals
• Antigens, Viral (chemistry)
• Carcinoma, Hepatocellular (virology)
• Cell Line, Tumor
• Female
• Hepatitis (complications)
• Humans
• Medical Oncology (methods)
• Mice
• Mice, Nude
• Models, Biological
• Neoplasms (pathology, virology)
• Papillomaviridae (metabolism)
• Radioimmunotherapy (methods)
• Uterine Cervical Neoplasms (virology)