Overcoming the barriers to effective pancreatic cancer treatment with stroma-targeting and immune-stimulating oncolytic viruses

Pancreatic cancer has one of the poorest survival rates of any cancer, and outcomes for patients in Wales remain particularly challenging due to limited effective treatment options. This project aims to address this urgent unmet need by developing highly targeted “smart virus” therapies designed to work against the key biological barriers that make pancreatic cancer so resistant to treatment.

By exploiting the fact that over 90% of pancreatic tumours express the αvβ6 marker, this research will develop oncolytic viruses that selectively target tumour cells while sparing healthy tissue. These viruses will be engineered to break down the dense tumour stroma and stimulate the patient’s immune system locally, reducing side effects associated with conventional systemic therapies.

Embedding this expertise within Wales will strengthen local capacity in advanced cancer immunovirotherapy and ensure Welsh patients are among the first to benefit from safer, more effective treatments. Success in Wales will position these approaches for wider adoption across the UK and beyond. This is already a proven pathway, with a Welsh patient with bile duct cancer being the first in the UK to benefit from previously virotherapy research when they were treated at Velindre Cancer Centre in late 2025.