In medical trial, a measles vaccine 'blitzkrieg' obliterated cancer
Thinkstock


Willing to try anything to beat blood cancer, 50-year-old Stacy Erholtz decided to participate in a Mayo Clinic experimental trial that involved injecting enough measles vaccine to inoculate 10 million people. Now, thanks to that "measles blitzkrieg," the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports, almost a year later, Erholtz is in remission.
Erholtz's tumors were mostly in her bone marrow, while the other study participant had tumors in the leg muscles. While Erholtz was the only one who went into remission, the experiment provides the "proof of concept" that a large amount of intravenous viral therapy can wipe out cancer by overpowering its natural defenses. "It's a landmark," lead researcher Dr. Stephen Russell, a professor of molecular medicine, told the Star Tribune. "Nobody's shown that you can do that in people before."
Viruses can be used to destroy cancer because, as the Star Tribune explains, "they bind to tumors and use them as hosts to replicate their own genetic material." The Mayo Clinic will launch a new, larger study within a few months to see if they can replicate the success.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The study was published Wednesday in Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Read more about this fascinating study at the Star Tribune.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Measles cases surge to 33-year high
Speed Read The infection was declared eliminated from the US in 2000 but has seen a resurgence amid vaccine hesitancy
-
Kennedy's vaccine panel signals skepticism, change
Speed Read RFK Jr.'s new vaccine advisory board intends to make changes to the decades-old US immunization system
-
Kennedy ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory panel
speed read Health Secretary RFK Jr. is a longtime anti-vaccine activist who has criticized the panel of experts
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kids
Speed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
-
New FDA chiefs limit Covid-19 shots to elderly, sick
speed read The FDA set stricter approval standards for booster shots
-
US overdose deaths plunged 27% last year
speed read Drug overdose still 'remains the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-44,' said the CDC
-
Trump seeks to cut drug prices via executive order
speed read The president's order tells pharmaceutical companies to lower prescription drug prices, but it will likely be thrown out by the courts
-
RFK Jr. visits Texas as 2nd child dies from measles
Speed Read An outbreak of the vaccine-preventable disease continues to grow following a decade of no recorded US measles deaths