With the world still in the grip of a devastating pandemic, it’s hard to imagine viruses as something other than hostile enemies to be vanquished. But in a review article published online on October 29, 2021 in the journal Cancers, Masmudur Rahman, PhD, and Grant McFadden, PhD, describe a class of viruses that act to combat rather than cause deadly disease. Such oncolytic viruses as they are known, have a remarkable ability to target and destroy cancer cells, while leaving healthy cells untouched. The open-access article is titled “Oncolytic Viruses: Newest Frontier for Cancer Immunotherapy.” “The field of oncolytic virotherapy today is advancing rapidly as clinical trial data accumulates and regulatory approvals continue to accrue,” Dr. McFadden says. Dr. Rahman is a researcher in the Biodesign Center for Immunotherapy, Vaccines and Virotherapy at Arizona State University. Dr. McFadden, a pioneer in the field of oncolytic viruses, directs the Center.