Fighting disease with disease

Doctors have developed a new ally in the fight against disease - the
very viruses that are themselves responsible for serious illness.
As the BBC television series Superhuman reports, Glaswegian Robert
Swan is living proof of the new-found ability of doctors to fight
disease with disease.

When he was 25 Robert developed an inoperable brain tumour known as a
glioma.

Robert's brain scan shows the tumour, in red, is still present

It affected his speech, paralysed his right side and would eventually
have killed him.

He was given standard anti-cancer treatments, but the tumour kept
growing.

As a last resort, he agreed to be the first person in the world to try
a radical new approach to brain cancer.

Robert had a hole drilled directly into his head and a live virus
injected straight into his tumour.

The virus selected was herpes simplex - the virus which causes cold
sores.

Herpes is particularly good at destroying rapidly-dividing cells.

Dividing cells

Professor Moira Brown was in charge of the operation, which took place
at Glasgow Southern General Hospital.

She said: "I thought could this virus destroy rapidly dividing tumour
cells and yet not affect cells which are no longer dividing?

"In the brain most of the cells are no longer dividing.

"We had turned something that was potentially bad into something that
was potentially good."

Robert Swan is living a normal life

Prof Brown said the procedure was relatively simple to carry out - but
radical nonetheless.

The treatment appears to have worked.

Robert's tumour is still present, but appears to have changed in
consistency and to have stopped growing.

Four years later, Robert is continuing to improve.

No-one really knows what will happen in the longer term. But for the
time being Robert's life is returning to normal.

Robert can hardly believe his good fortune: "It makes me feel
excellent. I have been okay since I had the dose."

Superhuman - Killers Into Cures is broadcast on BBC One on Sunday 5
November at 2115 GMT.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/1003890.stm