Grant: Project Grant

Cells in the bladder sometimes grow abnormally and lead to bladder cancer. Most often, these cancer cells remain in the bladder and are called nonmuscle invasive disease. Usually, these cancer cells are surgically removed from the bladder and the patient is treated with Bacillus Calmette Guerin (BCG) bacterial therapy to prevent cancer spread. However, many patients do not respond to BCG, develop toxic side effects, and require bladder removal to reduce their chances of dying from cancer spread. We will develop a new immunotherapy based on beneficial viruses called oncolytic viruses that only kills bladder cancer cells to prevent cancer spread. We have created a panel of viruses from which we will select the best one that we will test in animal models and ultimately use to eliminate bladder cancers in patients that fail BCG treatment.