Skip to main content

REVIEW article

Front. Immunol.
Sec. Cancer Immunity and Immunotherapy
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1483806
This article is part of the Research Topic Unveiling the Next Generation of Cancer Immunity & Immunotherapy View all 4 articles

Oncolytic Viruses: A Potential Breakthrough Immunotherapy for Multiple Myeloma Patients

Provisionally accepted
Vincenzo Raimondi Vincenzo Raimondi 1Rosanna Vescovini Rosanna Vescovini 2Mattia Dessena Mattia Dessena 2Gaetano Donofrio Gaetano Donofrio 3Paola Storti Paola Storti 2*Nicola Giuliani Nicola Giuliani 2,4,5*
  • 1 Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy, Parma, Italy
  • 2 Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
  • 3 Department of Medical-Veterinary Science, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
  • 4 Multiple Myeloma and Monoclonal Gammopathy Program, Department of Onco-Hematology, “Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Parma, Parma, Italy
  • 5 Hematology Unit, Department of Onco-Hematology, “Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Parma”, Parma, Italy

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Oncolytic virotherapy represents an innovative and promising approach for the treatment of cancer, including multiple myeloma (MM), a currently incurable plasma cell (PC) neoplasm. Despite the advances that new therapies, particularly immunotherapy, have been made, relapses still occur in MM patients, highlighting the medical need for new treatment options.Oncolytic viruses (OVs) preferentially infect and destroy cancer cells, exerting a direct and/or indirect cytopathic effect, combined with a modulation of the tumor microenvironment leading to an activation of the immune system. Both naturally occurring and genetically modified viruses have demonstrated significant preclinical effects against MM cells. Currently, the OVs genetically modified measles virus strains, reovirus, and vesicular stomatitis virus are employed in clinical trials for MM. Nevertheless, significant challenges remain, including the efficiency of the virus delivery to the tumor, overcoming antiviral immune responses, and the specificity of the virus for MM cells. Different strategies are being explored to optimize OV therapy, including combining it with standard treatments and targeted therapies to enhance efficacy. This review will provide a comprehensive analysis of the mechanism of action of the different OVs, and preclinical and clinical evidence, focusing on the role of oncolytic virotherapy as a new possible immunotherapeutic approach also in combination with the current therapeutic armamentarium and underlying the future directions in the context of MM treatments.

    Keywords: Oncolytic Viruses, Multiple Myeloma, Immunotherapy, microenvironment, antitumor immunity

    Received: 20 Aug 2024; Accepted: 07 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Raimondi, Vescovini, Dessena, Donofrio, Storti and Giuliani. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Paola Storti, Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, 43126, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
    Nicola Giuliani, Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, 43126, Emilia-Romagna, Italy

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.