EAU 2022 | Analyzing the role of oncolytic viruses in prostate cancer

Geertje Van Der Horst, PhD, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands, discusses enhancing the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors in prostate cancer with oncolytic viruses. Due to the immunosuppressive environment of the tumor, immunotherapy often fails to produce robust responses in prostate cancer. Engineered oncolytic viruses can kill tumors and only replicate in tumor cells, making them an attractive therapeutic strategy. Cancer cells additionally do not release damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) when they undergo cell death via oncolytic viruses. This interview took place at the European Association of Urology (EAU) Meeting 2022.