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Researchers have discovered that a rabbit virus can deliver a one-two punch — it can kill some kinds of cancer cells while eliminating a common and dangerous complication of bone marrow transplants.
For patients with blood cancers such as leukaemia and multiple myeloma, a bone marrow transplant replenishes marrow lost to disease or chemotherapy but raises the risk that newly transplanted white blood cells will attack the recipient’s body.
Researchers from the University of Florida have found the myxoma virus in rabbits can quell the side effects of a bone marrow transplant and destroy cancer cells. The virus could be especially helpful to patients who have recurring cancer but cannot find a suitable bone marrow donor, said Christopher R Cogle, the study’s lead investigator.
It also could improve transplant options among African-Americans and the elderly, who are less likely to find fully matched bone marrow donors.
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