Oncolytic virotherapy in head and neck cancer

Objective Oncolytic viruses (OV) infect and kill cancer cells and elicit an antitumoral immune response. With their potential to break through tumor immunoresistance, OV might be a future combination treatment option in patients with advanced head and neck cancer (HNC). Modes of action, biological modifications, handling and side effects of OV for treatment of HNC are reviewed. Results of preclinical and clinical trials are reported. Methods Publications and clinical trials dealing with OV and HNC were searched in PubMed and international platforms for clinical study records. Studies on preclinical and clinical trials regarding oncolytic Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV), Adenovirus, Vacciniavirus and Reovirus were selected. Results Enhanced infection and killing of tumor cells through capsid and genome modifications of OV were reported in recent preclinical studies. Most of the clinical studies were phase-I/II trials. In phase III studies, tumor regression and prolonged survival were observed after treatment with oncolytic HSV, Adenoviruses and Reoviruses. In most trials, OV were combined with chemoradiotherapy or immunotherapy. Conclusion In the published studies, OV treatment of HNC patients was safe, often well tolerated and showed promising results with regard to response and survival, especially in combination with chemoradiotherapy or checkpoint inhibitors.