Leveraging multimodal cancer immunotherapy to amplify the efficacy of oncolytic viruses.

Qiying Cai, Louqian Zhang, Lingkai Kong, Juan Fang, Juan Xu, Xiaosong Gu, Wujun Li, Chunping Jiang, Junhua Wu

Abstract readReview

In one paragraph

Review in Experimental hematology & oncology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

0citing papers in PubMed

–field-weighted citation impact

1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Qiying CaiState Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Center of Medical Big Data, Division of Hepatobiliary and Transplantation Surgery, Department of General Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, the Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Suqian Scientific Research Institute of Nanjing University Medical School, Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.

Louqian ZhangState Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Center of Medical Big Data, Division of Hepatobiliary and Transplantation Surgery, Department of General Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, the Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Suqian Scientific Research Institute of Nanjing University Medical School, Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.

Lingkai KongState Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Center of Medical Big Data, Division of Hepatobiliary and Transplantation Surgery, Department of General Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, the Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Suqian Scientific Research Institute of Nanjing University Medical School, Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.

Juan FangState Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Center of Medical Big Data, Division of Hepatobiliary and Transplantation Surgery, Department of General Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, the Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Suqian Scientific Research Institute of Nanjing University Medical School, Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.

Juan XuState Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Center of Medical Big Data, Division of Hepatobiliary and Transplantation Surgery, Department of General Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, the Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Suqian Scientific Research Institute of Nanjing University Medical School, Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.

Xiaosong GuState Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Center of Medical Big Data, Division of Hepatobiliary and Transplantation Surgery, Department of General Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, the Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Suqian Scientific Research Institute of Nanjing University Medical School, Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China. nervegu@ntu.edu.cn.

Wujun LiState Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Center of Medical Big Data, Division of Hepatobiliary and Transplantation Surgery, Department of General Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, the Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Suqian Scientific Research Institute of Nanjing University Medical School, Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China. liwujun@nju.edu.cn.

Chunping JiangState Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Center of Medical Big Data, Division of Hepatobiliary and Transplantation Surgery, Department of General Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, the Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Suqian Scientific Research Institute of Nanjing University Medical School, Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China. chunpingjiang@nju.edu.cn.

Junhua WuState Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Center of Medical Big Data, Division of Hepatobiliary and Transplantation Surgery, Department of General Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, the Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Suqian Scientific Research Institute of Nanjing University Medical School, Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China. wujunhua@nju.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4753-2648

Funding

Key R&D Program of Shandong Province 2025CXPT176National Natural Science Foundation of China 82272819 and 81972888Primary Research and Development Plan of Jiangsu Province BE2022840Research Project of Jinan Microecological Biomedicine Shandong Laboratory JNL-2025008B, JNL-2025009B, JNL-2025011B, JNL-2025010B, JNL 2025012B, and JNL-2023017DShandong Provincial Laboratory Project SYS202202Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation ZR2025MS1306

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Oncolytic viruses (OVs) represent a versatile platform for cancer immunotherapy, capable of selectively infecting and lysing tumor cells while triggering systemic antitumor immunity. However, their therapeutic efficacy remains limited by antiviral immunity, restricted intratumoral spread, and an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. This review highlights emerging strategies to potentiate OV efficacy through rational combination with complementary immunotherapies, including immune checkpoint inhibitors, adoptive cell therapies, cancer vaccines, and small-molecule immunomodulators. These synergistic interventions can remodel the tumor microenvironment, enhance immune cell infiltration and activation, reverse immunosuppressive feedback, promote immunogenic cell death, normalize the tumor vasculature, and modulate the gut microbiota, collectively amplifying OV replication and oncolytic potency. The integration of artificial intelligence and multiomics profiling further enables precise patient stratification and optimization of combination regimens. In parallel, advanced engineering strategies, such as arming OVs with immunomodulatory transgenes and mitigating host antiviral responses, further reinforce these effects. Together, these approaches illustrate how multimodal immunotherapy can overcome the intrinsic limitations of OVs, enabling durable antitumor immunity. This review underscores the central role of combination strategies in OV-based immuno-oncology and outlines future directions to accelerate their clinical translation.

Indexed as

Artificial intelligenceCancer immunotherapyCancer vaccineCell therapyCombination therapyGut microbiotaImmune checkpoint inhibitorsImmunityOncolytic virusTumor microenvironment

Identifiers

PMID42393779

DOI10.1186/s40164-026-00805-0

PMCPMC13613722

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata

Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.