Evaluating the Efficacy of ZIKV Oncolytic Virus Killing Efficiency on Tumor Cell Lines

The neurotropism of Zika virus in the developing brain has led to investigation of its oncolytic potential in many cancers, especially pediatric brain cancers. Childhood brain tumors are among the most difficult to treat and impact thousands of children yearly. We aim to evaluate naturally occurring strains of Zika for their killing capacity and viral lifecycle characteristics in a variety of patient-derived cell lines. CBTN provides a plethora of patient-derived tumor cell lines that can further elucidate Zika virus’ oncolytic potential. The opportunity to identify viral strains that selectively and effectively kill tumor types would impact patients facing these devastating diagnoses.