Professor Leonard Seymour

Department of Clinical Pharmacology
University of Oxford
Oxford

Using viruses to target cancer

Finding ways to target and kill cancer cells without harming healthy tissue is the holy grail of cancer research. Professor Leonard Seymour and his team at the University of Oxford are doing exactly that by harnessing the power of viruses to infect and destroy cancer cells.

Professor Seymour is a world-leader in developing viruses to treat cancer. He is investigating a type of virus called adenovirus, which causes cold-like symptoms. These microscopic particles invade human cells and hijack the cell’s internal machinery to make as many copies of themselves as possible. In fact, they replicate so fast that they burst the cells open. They then spread around the body looking for new cells to invade.

Developing an effective treatment

Surprisingly, adenoviruses are particularly good at infecting and destroying cancer cells. Professor Seymour has modified the virus particles so that they still target cancer cells, but can’t copy themselves in normal cells.

The next step is to make this potential treatment as effective as possible. Professor Seymour is looking for better ways to get the viruses into tumours and encourage their spread to other cancer cells, magnifying their anti-cancer effects. He is also finding ways to ‘cloak’ the virus particles, to prevent the immune system attacking and destroying them – so they are better able to do their job.

Professor Seymour’s work should lead to innovative treatments that are highly targeted to cancer cells and more effective for patients.