Adenoviral oncolysis in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Introduction HNSCC are amenable to adenoviral oncolytic tumor virotherapy because adenoviral (AdV) vectors can proliferate tumor-specifically in these cells. However, AdV vectors are mostly based on AdV serotype 5, which is limited in its applicability for in vivo treatment due to pre-existing immunity in the population and unfavorable liver tropism. To develop new, improved personalized AdV vectors, we investigated the potential of naturally occurring human adenoviruses to infect and possibly kill primary HNSCC.