Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41741902›Full record

ReviewJournal of neuro-oncology2026

Clinical and translational progress in oncolytic virotherapy for pediatric CNS tumors.

Amr Elgehiny, Aaron E Fan, Maria Frost, Jiasen He, Sam E Gary, Diana S Osorio, Wafik Zaky, Li Zhou, Kyung-Don Kang, Zhuo Zhang and 5 more

Abstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Journal of neuro-oncology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing 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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
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

15 authors.

Amr ElgehinyDepartment of Pediatrics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd, Unit 87, B8.4429, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
Aaron E FanDepartment of Pediatrics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd, Unit 87, B8.4429, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
Maria FrostDepartment of Pediatrics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd, Unit 87, B8.4429, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
Jiasen HeDepartment of Pediatrics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd, Unit 87, B8.4429, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
Sam E GaryMedical Scientist Training Program, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
Diana S OsorioDepartment of Pediatrics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd, Unit 87, B8.4429, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
Wafik ZakyDepartment of Pediatrics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd, Unit 87, B8.4429, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
Li ZhouDepartment of Pediatrics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd, Unit 87, B8.4429, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
Kyung-Don KangDepartment of Pediatrics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd, Unit 87, B8.4429, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
Zhuo ZhangDepartment of Pediatrics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd, Unit 87, B8.4429, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
Juan FueyoDepartment of Neurosurgery, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA.
Candelaria Gomez-ManzanoDepartment of Neurosurgery, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA.
Eric M ThompsonDepartment of Neurosurgery, Washington University School of Medicine and St. Louis Children's Hospital, St. Louis, MO, USA.
Joshua D BernstockDepartment of Neurosurgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Gregory K FriedmanDepartment of Pediatrics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd, Unit 87, B8.4429, Houston, TX, 77030, USA. GKFriedman@mdanderson.org.

Funding

FDA HHS R01 FD006368The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) R01FD006368
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposePediatric central nervous system (CNS) tumors are the leading cause of cancer-related mortality in children. Development of more effective therapies for pediatric CNS tumors has been slow, underscoring an urgent need for novel and innovative approaches.

methodsThis review summarizes current pediatric clinical trials of oncolytic viruses for pediatric brain tumors including high-grade glioma (HGG), diffuse midline glioma (DMG), medulloblastoma (MDB), atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumors (ATRT), and other high-grade tumors, while highlighting limitations of early-phase data, exploratory biomarkers, imaging challenges, pseudoprogression, and future directions.

resultsKey platforms include HSV-based agents (HSV1716, G207, and M032); adenoviral vectors (DNX2401, Ad-TD-nsIL12, and ICOVIR-5); MV-NIS (measles virus); PVS-RIPO (poliovirus); and Reolysin (reovirus). We review trial status, innovations in viral engineering and delivery, combinatorial strategies and translational challenges to establish oncolytic virotherapy as part of the future standard care for pediatric brain tumors.

conclusionOncolytic virotherapy or immunovirotherapy offers a promising strategy to selectively kill tumor cells and generate antitumor immune response while minimizing toxicity to healthy cells compared to conventional treatments. Although still emerging in pediatric neuro-oncology, preclinical studies and early-phase clinical trials show encouraging safety and efficacy signals.

Indexed as

Central Nervous System NeoplasmsOncolytic VirotherapyTranslational Research, BiomedicalAnimalsChildClinical Trials as TopicHumansOncolytic VirusesBiomarkersClinical trialsImmunotherapyOncolytic virusesPediatric CNS tumorsPseudoprogression

Identifiers

PMID41741902
PMCPMC12935792

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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 Socratic graph.