Intravesical and intravenous therapy of human bladder cancer by the herpes vector G207.

G207, a conditionally replicating herpes vector, efficiently kills human bladder cancer cells in vitro. To evaluate the therapeutic potential of G207, we have established three in vivo models similar to the clinical situation. In vivo, G207 was intraneoplastically, intravesically, or intravenously inoculated in nude mice. Intraneoplastic inoculation into subcutaneous tumor caused significant tumor growth inhibition. Intravesical inoculation of G207 also caused decreased tumor growth in an orthotopic human bladder cancer model. Furthermore, multiple intravenous inoculation markedly inhibited subcutaneous tumor growth. These results suggest that intravesical therapy with G207 is effective for localized bladder tumor, especially for carcinoma in situ (CIS), and intravenous therapy with G207 is promising for invasive or metastasized bladder tumor.