Stage IIA Skin Melanoma Treatment With ECHO-7 Oncolytic Virus Rigvir

Melanoma is a global problem due to the rising numbers of skin melanoma cases. Current treatment guidelines for patients with stage IIA melanoma recommend only observation after surgery. In this report, the authors describe a patient with stage IIA skin melanoma treated with surgery and Rigvir virotherapy. Two years after the patient discovered a brown spot on the right cheek, surgery was indicated because the mass had started to ulcerate. Rigvir virotherapy was applied both before and after surgery. Observations made more than 7 years after surgery indicated no signs of disease progression. This case report illustrates an early treatment approach. Neoadjuvant treatment for early-stage melanoma is gaining more interest in both scientific and medical communities; therefore, the authors believe it is relevant to share their observations.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Long-term treatment with the oncolytic ECHO-7 virus Rigvir of a melanoma stage IV M1c patient, a small cell lung cancer stage IIIA patient, and a histiocytic sarcoma stage IV patient-three case reports

Publisher Copyright: © 2016 International Virotherapy Center. APMIS published by John Wiley & Sons LtdOncolytic virotherapy is a recent addition to cancer treatment. Here, we describe positive treatment outcomes in three patients using Rigvir virotherapy. One of the patients is diagnosed with melanoma stage IV M1c, one with small cell lung cancer stage IIIA, and one with histiocytic sarcoma stage IV. The diagnoses of all patients are verified by histology or cytology. All patients started Rigvir treatment within a few months after being diagnosed and are currently continuing Rigvir treatment. The degree of regression of the disease has been determined by computed tomography. Safety assessment of adverse events graded according to NCI CTCAE did not show any value above grade 1 during Rigvir® treatment. Using current standard treatments, the survival of patients with the present diagnoses is low. In contrast, the patients described here were diagnosed 3.5, 7.0, and 6.6 years ago, and their condition has improved and been stabile for over 1.5, 6.5, and 4 years, respectively. These observations suggest that virotherapy using Rigvir can successfully be used in long-term treatment of patients with melanoma stage IV M1c, small cell lung cancer stage IIIA, and histiocytic sarcoma stage IV and therefore could be included in prospective clinical studies.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Multimodality Treatment of a Colorectal Cancer Stage IV Patient with FOLFOX-4, Bevacizumab, Rigvir Oncolytic Virus, and Surgery

Colorectal cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers worldwide. The treatment consists of surgical resection, systemic chemotherapy, and new biological agents. One more recently emerging treatment option is oncolytic virotherapy. Although the use of the new treatment methods shows improved overall and progression-free survival, in general, even with the new treatments, mortality remains high and combinations of treatments should be sought to treat patients with colorectal cancer. Here we report a stage IV colorectal cancer patient who received multimodality treatment including bevacizumab, FOLFOX-4, surgery, and the oncolytic virus Rigvir. The patient shows complete pathological remission and remains stable 7.7 years after initial diagnosis. The possible benefits of combining Rigvir oncolytic virus and bevacizumab should be investigated since in vitro research suggests that anti-angiogenesis agents improve viral distribution by altering the microenvironment of the tumor

Management of a primary malignant melanoma of uterine cervix stage IVA patient with radical surgery and adjuvant oncolytic virus Rigvir(R) therapy: A case report.

Primary malignant melanoma of the uterine cervix is a rare disease with poor prognosis and high recurrence rate. We used Rigvir® as adjuvant therapy for a stage IVA patient. Tolerability, overall and progression-free survival are good

Comment on: Malfitano, A.M. et al. “Virotherapy as a Potential Therapeutic Approach for the Treatment of Aggressive Thyroid Cancer” Cancers 2019, 11, 1532

I read with interest the recent review on virotherapy in thyroid cancer by Malfitano et al [...

Comment on Hietanen et al. Cytolytic Properties and Genome Analysis of Rigvir® Oncolytic Virotherapy Virus and Other Echovirus 7 Isolates. Viruses 2022, 14, 525

In a recent article published in Viruses by Hietanen et al. [...

Comment on McCarthy, C.; et al. Developing Picornaviruses for Cancer Therapy. Cancers 2019, 11, 685

I would like to make the following corrections to the publication by McCarthy et al [...

Melanoma Unknown Primary Brain Metastasis Treatment with ECHO-7 Oncolytic Virus Rigvir: A Case Report

Melanoma is considered an aggressive malignancy with a tendency of forming metastasis in the brain. Less than 10% of all melanoma cases present with unknown primary tumor location. This diagnose is yet to be fully understood, because there are only theoretical assumptions about the nature of the disease. Melanoma brain metastases have many severe side effects and, unfortunately, any disease related to the brain has limited therapeutic options due to the blood–brain barrier. The course of the disease after a treatment course is complicated to predict, and it is difficult to obtain long-lasting remission. In this report, we describe a female patient with unknown primary melanoma brain metastasis treated with the oncolytic ECHO-7 virus Rigvir® after brain surgery. The patient has been stable, as monitored by magnetic resonance imaging, for more than 3.8 years with ongoing therapy. The median expected overall survival from the time of diagnosis is approximately 5 months. Additional positive effect could have been gained from use of the intranasal administration route, which is considered effective due to the direct anatomical connection between the nasal cavity and the central nervous system. However, further studies are required to fully understand this mode of drug administration

Combination treatment with nivolumab and Rigvir of a progressive stage IIC skin melanoma patient

A 35-year-old male patient was diagnosed with stage IIC skin melanoma that rapidly progressed after surgery. Treatment was continued with radiotherapy, which did not stop further spread of disease and the patient was put on a combination of nivolumab and Rigvir. Subsequently, the progression has slowed