Viral Therapy of Cancer

In the last decade there has been an explosion of interest in viral therapies for cancer. Viral agents have been developed that are harmless to normal tissues but selectively able to kill cancer cells. These agents have been endowed with additional selectivity and potency through genetic manipulation. Increasingly these viruses are undergoing evaluation in clinical trials, both as single agents and in combination with standard chemotherapy and radiotherapy. This book provides a comprehensive yet succinct overview of the current status of viral therapy of cancer. Chapters coherently present the advances made with individual agents and review the biological and clinical background to a range of viral therapies: structured to proceed from basic science at the bench to the patient's bedside, they give an up-to-date and realistic evaluation of a therapy's potential utility for the cancer patient. This book: presents state of the art knowledge on how viruses can be, and have been, used in novel therapeutic approaches for the treatment of cancer and describes the use of viruses as oncolytic agents, killing cells directly.The editors are experts in the field, with experience of both laboratory and clinical research. "Viral Therapy of Cancer" is essential reading for both basic scientists and clinicians with an interest in viral therapy and gene therapy.