HSV1716 as a vector for gene therapy

HSV1716 is safe in clinical trials. No adverse responses have been detected in 68 patients following intratumoral injection of HSV1716. HSV1716 has been injected into patients with tumours located in the brain (glioma) on the skin (melanoma), or in the mouth (SCC) normal sites of HSV-1 infection, yet HSV1716 replication was uniquely restricted to the tumour cells. In the tissue section shown opposite, HSV1716 replication (red staining) is exquisitely restricted to tumour cells and not the surrounding normal tissue.