IMR Press / FBL / Volume 27 / Issue 2 / DOI: 10.31083/j.fbl2702063
Open Access Review
Oncolytic viruses in melanoma
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1 School of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA
2 Department of Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
*Correspondence: kristen.rhodin@duke.edu (Kristen Rhodin)
Academic Editor: Ivana de la Serna
Front. Biosci. (Landmark Ed) 2022, 27(2), 63; https://doi.org/10.31083/j.fbl2702063
Submitted: 18 December 2021 | Revised: 17 January 2022 | Accepted: 19 January 2022 | Published: 14 February 2022
Copyright: © 2022 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press.
This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.
Abstract

Malignant melanoma recurrence remains heterogeneous in presentation, ranging from locoregional disease (i.e., local recurrence, satellites, in transit disease) to distant dermal and visceral metastases. This diverse spectrum of disease requires a personalized approach to management and has resulted in the development of both local (e.g., surgery, radiation, intralesional injection) and systemic (intravenous or oral) treatment strategies. Intralesional agents such as oncolytic viruses may also evoke local immune stimulation to induce and enhance the antitumor immune response. Further, it is hypothesized that these oncolytic viruses may convert immunologically “cold” tumors to more reactive “hot” tumor microenvironments and thereby overcome anti-PD-1 therapy resistance. Currently, talimogene laherparepvec (T-VEC), a modified herpes virus, is FDA-approved in this population, with many other oncolytic viruses under investigation in both preclinical and trial settings. Herein, we detail the scientific rationale, current landscape, and future directions of oncolytic viruses in melanoma.

Keywords
melanoma
in transit melanoma
intralesional therapy
oncolytic viruses
Figures
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