Oncology

5 Sep 2017

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(2594 votes)

What Do You Know About Oncolytic Virotherapy for Cancer? Rigvir® Statistics, Mode of Action, Terms of Application

There’s never a right time for a disease, especially cancer. But if chemotherapy and radiotherapy failed to help you or the one you love, virotherapy can be an option. Let’s see what you as a cross-border patient should do to qualify for Rigvir® therapy.

When injected into the muscle, Rigvir® starts to scan your body in search of the malignant cells and eliminate them from inside. The virus itself doesn’t result in any diseases. Moreover, it leaves your healthy cells unharmed. Posing no health risks is another advantage of Rigvir® therapy. Only some patients report increased body temperature (99.5°F/37.5°C) that lasts not more than 3 days.

 virotherapy oncolytic

Rigvir® vial is stored in low temperatures

Latvia to Use Oncolytic Virotherapy Methods Officially in State Cancer Treatment Program Since 2004

As Latvia was the first country to develop virotherapy and register Rigvir® in 2004, now it provides educational services for specialists from other states and medical services for patients. There are more reasons to visit Rigvir clinic in Latvia:

  1. Cancer specialists in Latvia have over 50 years of virotherapy experience
  2. Cancer specialists in Latvia make a thorough analysis of your submitted medical files
  3. Cancer specialists in Latvia offer inpatient or outpatient care
  4. Cancer specialists in Latvia provide virotherapy educational activities for oncologists from more than 20 countries around the world. 

To Qualify for Rigvir® Treatment, You Need to Provide Biopsy Report and Other Four Additional Reports

So if you are looking to undergo Rigvir treatment in Latvia, first of all, you need to find your cancer type in the following list.  

Whether you will be applying Rigvir for pancreatic cancer, melanoma, or other condition, the next step to take is to collect your medical files for free case evaluation. Remember that your cancer case differs from others. Therefore, make sure you collect the following medical records: 

  • Biopsy (or pathology) report
  • Cytological findings
  • Complete blood count and white blood cells not older than 2 weeks
  • Blood biochemistry incl. ALT (alanine aminotransferase), creatinine, etc.
  • Radiology reports (actual images are not needed)

 You’ll have to wait up to 2-3 days for an oncologist to assess your case free of charge. The Chief Oncologist of Latvia often participates in the decision-making process. The patient coordinator will email you the outcome of your case evaluation and information about what to do next.

Efficiency of Virotherapy Methods: Results of Clinical Studies and Testimonials of Patients

Although Rigvir® was invented in the middle of the 20th century and officially recognized in Latvia only in 2004, the period between these dates was full of medical studies and trials. Here you can see the increase in survival rates for patients with different types of cancer:

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Success rate of melanoma patients treatment

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Comparison of 3- and 5-year survival rates

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Chances to overcome stomach cancer increase when applying virotherapy

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Survival rates for surgery patients are 41-68%, while for virotherapy patients they constitute 71-78%

And according to Melanoma Research (2015), Rigvir® patients were 4.39-6.57 times more likely to survive:

You can also read the survivors’ stories. Here are some of them:

Zane from Latvia with melanoma stage I: “I expected my hair would fall out and that I would lose lots of weight.”*

 *Results may vary.

Jane from the USA with ocular melanoma: “And the doctor that did my blood test in the United States was astounded.”*

*Results may vary

4 Things to Keep in Mind Before Qualifying for Rigvir® Therapy

  • You must be 18 years old or older as there is no evidence that Rigvir® treats pediatric cancer.
  • Your tumor must be solid as Rigvir® doesn't treat blood cancers such as leukemia, lymphoma, or myeloma.
  • Your tumor must be malignant as Rigvir® treats cancer cases only.
  • Your purpose must be treatment other than prevention as Rigvir® cannot be applied as a preventive measure.

You can apply virotherapy as a monotherapy or combine it with chemo and radio. If you still have doubts or want to learn whether you or someone can benefit from the treatment, click the button below to submit your inquiry.



List of References

  1. Brūvere, R., O., Heisele A. Ferdats, A. Rupais, and A. Muceniece, Echovirus-mediated biotherapy for malignant tumours: 40 years of investigation. Acta medica Lituanica, 2002. Suppl. 9: p. 97-100.
  2. “Adapted ECHO-7 Virus RigVir Immunotherapy (oncolytic Virotherapy) Prolongs Survival in Melanoma Patients after Surgical Excision of the Tumour in a Retrospective Study.” Doniņa, Simona; Strēle, Ieva; Proboka, Guna; Auziņš, Jurgis; Alberts, Pēteris; Jonsson, Björn; Venskus, Dite; Muceniece, Aina. Melanoma Research: October 2015 - Volume 25 - Issue 5 - p 421–426.
  3. Alberts, P., E. Olmane, L. Brokāne, Z. Krastiņa, M. Romanovska, K. Kupčs, S. Isajevs, G. Proboka, R. Erdmanis, J. Nazarovs, and D. Venskus, Long-term treatment with the oncolytic ECHO-7 virus Rigvir of a melanoma stage IV M1c patient, a small cell lung cancer stage IIIA patient, and a histiocytic sarcoma stage IV patient-three case reports. APMIS, 2016. 124(10): p. 896-904.