Recent research has indicated that viruses specifically infecting
tumor cells could be used as an alternative therapeutic approach in
cancer patients. A particular example is the adenovirus
ONYX-015, which has entered clinical trials in the context of
head and neck cancer. Successful therapy crucially requires an understanding about how viral and host parameters influence
tumor load. The interactions between the growing
tumor, the replicating virus, and possible immune responses are multifactorial and nonlinear. Hence, a complete understanding of how virus and host characteristics influence the outcome of
therapy requires mathematical models. In this study, such mathematical models are presented and analyzed. The study investigates three possible scenarios that could be relevant for
therapy: (a) viral cytotoxicity alone kills
tumor cells; (b) a virus-specific lytic CTL response contributes to killing of infected
tumor cells; (c) the virus elicits immunostimulatory signals within the
tumor that promote the development of
tumor-specific CTL. The models precisely define conditions required for successful therapy. They identify the parameters that need to be measured and modulated to evaluate and refine the existing
therapy regimes.