Immunity Unleashed: Turning Influenza into a Cancer Warrior 🦠🦸

Keywords

Oncolytic viruses, Influenza A viruses, Cancer therapy, Lung cancer, Immune activation 

Summary

In this episode, Pia Madeleine Leipe talks with Dr. Ramona Meissner about an exciting frontier in cancer research: oncolytic viruses. Together, they explore how Influenza A viruses can be used to selectively target and destroy tumor cells, why these viruses are particularly promising againstlung cancer , and how the immune system plays a key role in this approach.

Ramona shares insights from her research, explaining how engineered viruses can both kill cancer cells and stimulate anti-tumor immune responses. The conversation also touches on current challenges, safety considerations, and the future potential of this innovative therapeutic strategy.

Takeaways

• Viruses can selectively target and destroy tumor cells.
• Influenza A shows promise as an oncolytic virus for lung cancer treatment.
• Combines direct tumor killing with immune activation.
• Research results reveal high potential of influenza A as OV. 

Resources & Links

• Review: Oncolytic viruses: advanced strategies in cancer therapy (Nature 2026)
• Replication-incompetent influenza A viruses armed with IFN-γ effectively mediate immune modulation and tumor destruction in mice harboring lung cancer (Molecular Therapy Oncolytics 2023)

Connect with Dr. Ramona Meissner

• Postdoc in Claudia Rössig´s Group (Cellular Immunotherapy) at Princess Máxima Centerfor Pediatric Oncology in Utrecht
• LinkedIn