BATON ROUGE, LA —Researchers at the Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine are using the herpes virus to potentially fight breast cancer, which, according to the American Cancer Society, is the most common cancer among women.Breast cancer accounts for nearly one in three cancer deaths of women in the United States.

Researchers have engineered a herpes virus that can kill cancer cells but leaves normal, healthy cells alone.

“Herpes virus replicate cells on their own,” said Dr. Konstantin Kousoulas, professor of virology in the Department of Pathobiological Sciences and director of the Division of Biotechnology & Molecular Medicine to Science Daily. “Cold sores are caused when the herpes virus replicates and kills normal cells; the cold sore is made up of the dead cells. Our herpes virus has been engineered to only replicate and destroy cancer cells, thus killing the tumor. Patients would not contract the herpes virus itself.”

The LSU-engineered version of herpes may also be used as a vaccine.

“The herpes virus is oncolytic, which means it kills the tumor, but we want to see now if it can be engineered to boost the immune system and prevent it from metastasizing,” said Kousoulas.

A German company, MediGene, has a similar herpes virus, which is in Phase 3 clinical trials for liver cancer. It will take at least three years for the herpes virus to enter Phase 3 clinical trials in the United States.