Emergence of Ad-Mediated Combination Therapy Against Cancer: What to Expect?

Abstract

Novel treatment modalities are rapidly advancing toward clinical use as many malignant cancers still remain incurable. Adenovirus (Ad) in particular has been extensively researched as a promising alternative to conventional cancer therapy in the past decades. Although Ad has demonstrated promising therapeutic outcome and cancer specificity in preclinical models, its therapeutic efficacy in clinical trials is still insufficient due to several drawbacks such as rapid clearance of viral particles by host immune response, induction of acute inflammatory response, and hepatotoxicity. In this regard, combination of Ad with other cancer treatment modalities, such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or immunotherapy, can be an effective strategy to overcome the limitations of Ad. Cancer-specific and effective expression of multifunctional therapeutic genes by Ad can enhance the therapeutic profile of other treatment modalities, making it a logical candidate for combination therapy to combat malignant tumors.