Reovirus: Viral therapy for cancer 'as nature intended'

Oncolytic viruses are tumour selective and able to lyse cancer cells after infection. Reovirus is an example of a wild-type oncolytic virus and is currently being investigated as a potential novel therapy for cancer. This overview gives a brief description of what is known about reovirus biology and summarises the preclinical data related to its oncolytic ability. The completed and ongoing clinical trials involving reovirus, both as a single agent and in combination with chemotherapy and radiotherapy, will be reviewed and their results discussed. Many of these clinical studies are being conducted by centres in the UK.