Recent study published online by Melanoma Research journal indicates that melanoma patients would significantly benefit by prolonging their survival with oncolytic virotherapy treatment (http://journals.lww.com/melanomaresearch/toc/publishahead).
The study revealed that the early stage melanoma patients treated with oncolytic medicine Rigvir were 4 to 6 times more likely to survive than those who following the current guidelines for the treatment of melanoma.
Melanoma is one of the fastest-growing cancers and has the highest mortality rate of skin cancers. More than half of melanoma patients experience progression of disease within next 3 years after diagnosis. Unfortunately, current clinical practice guidelines for early stage melanoma patients provide few, if any, recommendations for treatment after surgery.
Melanoma treatment using oncolytic virus is a cancer treatment option that has been observed for over a century and is presently being studied intensively. The effect of viruses on cancers, including melanoma, has been tested in clinical trials, however the effectivness of an approved and marketed virus has not yet been shown in a clinical setting. Rigvir is the first oncolytic virus in the world with anticancer and immunomodulating effects, which is registered for cancer virotherapy and introduced in medical practice. Rigvir was approved in 2004 in Latvia (EU member state) for melanoma therapy and since 2011 is fully reimbursed by government for skin melanoma patients here. Since 2015 Rigvir is included in the national guidelines for the skin cancer and melanoma treatment.
It has recently been approved by the Health Authorities in Georgia.
For our overview on Oncolytic Virotherapy click here.
For our overview on Rigvir click here.