Medical Xpress
by Nemours Children’s Health System
January 9, 2024
Injecting neuroblastoma tumors with Zika virus shrank or eliminated those tumors in studies with mice, suggesting that the virus could someday serve as an effective cancer therapy, according to a study led by Nemours Children’s Health researchers and published in Cancer Research Communications.
Neuroblastoma is a rare childhood cancer that typically develops in the sympathetic nervous system or the adrenal glands. Only 700 to 800 cases are diagnosed each year in the United States, accounting for 6% of childhood cancer diagnoses. However, high-risk neuroblastoma takes a disproportionate toll, causing 15% of childhood cancer deaths.