Towards the Long-Term Protection for Prostate Cancer

Worldwide, prostate cancer (PC) is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in men, and the second leading cause of cancer death in the developed world [1-4]. Approximately 11% of all men in the United States are diagnosed with PC over their lifetime, with the incidence increasing with age [3]. Current treatment options for PC depend on PC stage and may include radical prostatectomy, radiation therapy, androgen deprivation therapy, and chemotherapy [4-6]. However, despite advances in PC screening and the wide availability of treatment options available for PC, the prognosis of metastatic PC remains grim with a 5-year survival rate of 28% for metastatic disease [3, 5, 7]. Furthermore, current treatment options for PC present a wide variety of undesirable side effects or complications [8-10]. One such type of therapy includes the use of androgen deprivation therapy, which has been associated with loss of bone density, vasomotor symptoms, and sexual dysfunction with or without a change in mental state [11-16]. The development of oncolytic viral therapy may provide a novel treatment option for the treatment of PC by direct killing of tumor cells and enhancement of the immune response against the tumor [1, 2, 17-19]. In addition, this novel therapy could be utilized in tandem with other currently approved treatment options for a potential synergistic treatment of PC. This article will provide an overview of the current research in oncolytic viral therapy, compare the potential utility of oncolytic viral therapy in PC in comparison to current treatment regimens, and suggest an optimal oncolytic viral therapy schedule for PC patients. Understanding the benefits of oncolytic viral therapy provide us with a greater diversity of treatment options that may be used or combined for PC, particularly for castration-resistant PC tumors or metastases, as well as other cancers with few treatment options.