Antifibrotic properties of transarterial VSV oncolytic therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma in rats with TAA-induced liver fibrosis

We have previously reported that recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) vectors are effective oncolytic agents, which can be administered via the hepatic artery in immune-competent rats to treat multifocal hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and result in significant prolongation of survival. However, the majority of clinical cases of HCC arise as a result of liver fibrosis, which poses an even greater challenge for treatment of the cancer as well as the underlying liver disease. To this end, syngeneic HCC cells were injected into the livers of rats harboring thioacetamide-induced fibrosis. We confirmed that V…