Oncolytic viruses for triple negative breast cancer and beyond

Biological therapy is considered an alternative treatment capable of eliciting the same effects on tumors as surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. As a major player in biological therapy, oncolytic viruses (OVs) have attracted great attention and achieved good results. Specifically, the successful application of OVs in head and neck cancer, as well as melanoma, promoted its research in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). TNBC is a high-risk molecular type of breast cancer, characterized by strong invasion, easy recurrence, and metastasis. Due to the absence of estrogen and progesterone receptors, as well as the absence of overexpression or gene amplification of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), endocrine therapy and anti HER-2 targeted therapy have proven ineffective. Although chemotherapy has shown substantial efficacy in some TNBC patients, the occurrence of drug resistance and poor prognosis have prompted the exploration of new and effective treatment methods. The emerging concept of OVs provides a new platform to treat TNBC. Indeed, several studies have confirmed the therapeutic effects of OVs in TNBC. Numerous studies have also investigated the efficacy of OVs in other malignances, including solid tumor clinical trials, thus further demonstrating the promising application of oncolytic virotherapy for TNBC. The primary focus of the current review is the examination of OV mechanisms underlying their antitumor properties, while also summarizing the ongoing progress in OV research regarding TNBC treatment, as well as the various combinatorial strategies comprising OVs and other therapies. We also briefly introduce specific relevant clinical trials and discuss some of the progress in the research of novel OVs for the treatment of other malignancies, thereby affirming the significant therapeutic potential of OVs for the treatment of TNBC, as well as other cancers.