trial combined with chemo- and radiotherapy as Standard of Care for patients newly diagnosed with head & neck cancer. Herpes simplex virus, adenovirus, reovirus and murine leukemia virus are also undergoing clinical trials as a part of combination therapies. Pre-clinical research Chen et al. (2001) used CV706, a prostate-specific adenovirus, in conjunction with radiotherapy on prostate cancer in mice. The combined treatment resulted in a synergistic increase in cell death, as well as a significant increase in viral burst size (the number of virus particles released from each cell lysis). No alteration in viral specificity was observed. SEPREHVIR (HSV-1716) has also shown synergy in pre-clinical research when used in combination with several cancer chemotherapies. The anti-angiogenesis drug Bevacizumab (anti-VEGF antibody) has been shown to reduce the inflammatory response to oncolytic HSV and improve virotherapy in mice. A modified oncolytic vaccinia virus encoding a single-chain anti-VEGF antibody (mimicking Bevacizumab) was shown to have significantly enhanced antitumor activities than parental virus in animal models. In fiction In science fiction, the concept of an oncolytic virus was first introduced to the public in Jack Williamson's novel Dragon's Island, published in 1951, although Williamson's imaginary virus was based on a bacteriophage rather than a mammalian virus. Dragon's Island is also known for being the source of the term "genetic engineering". The plot of the Hollywood film I Am Legend is based on the premise that a worldwide epidemic was caused by a viral cure for cancer. In the Fox Broadcasting Company TV series House Season 2 Episode 19, a strain of Herpes simplex virus is shown to have shrunk a hepatic tumor. See also Measles virus encoding the human thyroidal sodium iodide symporter (MV-NIS) Oncolytic AAV Oncovirus, virus that can cause cancer References Further reading