Common Virus Kills Cancer Cells

Teresa Neumann : Jun 24, 2005
CNN

CNN reports that a common virus, called adeno-associated virus type 2, or AAV-2 --which infects about 80 percent of the population -- kills cancer cells and may be developed as a new cancer therapy.

"Our results suggest that adeno-associated virus type 2, which infects the majority of the population but has no known ill effects, kills multiple types of cancer cells yet has no effect on healthy cells," said Craig Meyers, a professor of microbiology and immunology at the Penn State College of Medicine in Pennsylvania.

"One of the most compelling findings is that AAV-2 appears to have no pathologic effects on healthy cells," added Meyers.