Susanne Warner, MD, surgical oncologist at City of Hope said that their team has found a safe and innovative virus CF33 that can activate immune system against Colon cancer ( large intestine cancer) by breaking the targeted cancer cells by directing patient’s own immune cells.

A combination of CF33 and anti-PD-L1 check point gives long lasting immunity that is if that cancer cell once destroyed and again tries to re-grow will be detected by immune system and destroyed as published in “Recombinant Orthopoxvirus Primes Colon cancer for Check point Inhibitor and Cross-Primes T cells for Antitumor and Antiviral Immunity.”

Yuman Fong, MD, the Sangiacomo Family Chair in Surgical Oncology at City of Hope along with his team has created the oncolytic ( cancer cell breaking) recombinant orthopoxvirus CF33 which when combined with anti-PD-L1 was most effective against cancer and also increase CD8⁺T cells which remember previous diseases and are ready to attack if reintroduced later.