[mindcrime]

Oncolytics Biotech is studying a virus that hitch-hikes through the body on certain blood cells, camouflaged from the immune system.

Is it just me, or does this sound kinda dangerous? That is, engineering a virus specifically to evade the immune system. As long as it stays un-mutated, fine. But what if a mutation occurs that results in it becoming a deadly disease, with the bonus of being "camouflaged from the immune system"?

[ars]

> But what if a mutation occurs that results in it becoming a deadly disease

It seems dangerous to me as well, but I should point out that viruses don't typically do that - they are either dangerous or not. They might change how infectious, or which species they target, but it rare to go from harmless to dangerous.

It's also not in their interest to be dangerous, it's better for them to simply be infectious without causing serious illness.

[abandonliberty]

You're right, Some of the most evolutionary fit viruses are the HERVs.[1]

Unfortunately viruses (and genes for that matter) don't mutate intentionally for their best interests.

[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endogenous_retrovirus

[task_queue]

Cancer is not in an organism's interest, but mutations can still occur and cause it.

[maxerickson]

The virus was selected because it already evades the immune system:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talimogene_laherparepvec

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herpesviridae#Immune_system_ev...

They altered it to make it less virulent to normal cells and more lethal to cancer cells.

[crpatino]

Your answer is not very reassuring on the mutation front.

Considering that what you said can be translated to "we are curing cancer with an infectious disease that was modified to spread more slowly and kill cancer cells faster than it kills you", I don't think it is reassuring to the people that has to live day to day with the patient either.

It is a horrible necessity to have cancer patients be dosed with poison, but infecting themselves with something that can get to their families is in another league.

[maxerickson]

Spread more slowly is an understatement, a critical gene is deleted so that the virus cannot replicate in healthy cells. Also, it's a virus that causes cold sores. Not something you want your family to get for no reason, but not really horrifying either.

[eliben]

Getting a herpes is probably a side effect folks with advanced melanoma could live with.

[ars]

Is it contagious? Herpes is. In the scenario at hand the virus would transmit to others.

[zamalek]

> Is it just me, or does this sound kinda dangerous?

Dr. House is full of truisms and one pops up here. Doctors are also seriously concerned about the potential dangers of this treatment; however, they have determined that against the risks of cancer it's worth it.

No medicine is risk-free. Medicine replaces an active condition with a chance for a less severe condition. Cold sores (if they even present as a side effect) have a much better prognosis than cancer.

[jmeekr]

My thoughts exactly. Has no one studied the plot to I Am Legend?

[dev360]

I was JUST thinking that when I read the heading :)