Oncolytic Viruses and Hematological Malignancies: A New Class of Immunotherapy Drugs

Abstract

The use of viruses for tumour treatment has been imagined more than one hundred years ago, when it was reported that viral diseases were occasionally leading to a decrease in neoplastic lesions. Oncolytic viruses (OVs) seem to have a specific tropism for tumour cells. Previously, it was hypothesised that OVs’ antineoplastic actions were mainly due to their ability to contaminate, proliferate and destroy tumour cells and the immediate destructive effect on cells was believed to be the single mechanism of action of OVs’ action. Instead, it has been established that oncolytic viruses operate via a multiplicity of systems, including mutation of tumour milieu and a composite change of the activity of immune effectors. Oncolytic viruses redesign the tumour environment towards an antitumour milieu. The aim of our work is to evaluate the findings present in the literature about the use of OVs in the cure of haematological neoplastic pathologies such as multiple myeloma, acute and chronic myeloid leukaemia, and lymphoproliferative diseases. Further experimentations are essential to recognize the most efficient virus or treatment combinations for specific haematological diseases, and the combinations able to induce the strongest immune response.