Advances in research on oncolytic virus immunotherapy

Cancer has become a serious threat to human health. Classical cancer treatments work poorly on certain types of cancers, and have severe adverse effects on life quality of patients. With the development of cancer immunotherapy, oncolytic virus, an emerging antineoplastic drug with functions including directly killing tumor cells, activating immune response, and enhancing effect of other therapies has obtained significant research progress. Compared with classical treatments, oncolytic virus therapy has high specificity, few side effects and ability to work on various tumors. This review summarizes mechanisms of oncolytic virus immunotherapy and perspectives and challenges for further research. Key words: Neoplasms; Oncolytic viruses; Immunotherapy; Combination therapy