Lymphangiogenesis driven by VEGF-C reshapes tumor immune landscape and enables tumor eradication by viral immunotherapy in mouse melanoma models.

VEGF-C-driven lymphangiogenesis enables durable complete responses to oncolytic virotherapy in mouse melanoma models.

• Why it matters: Understanding how to improve immunotherapy responses is crucial, as many tumors resist current treatments. Enhancing the tumor immune microenvironment could lead to more effective therapies.
• What they did: Researchers treated B16F10 tumors with or without VEGF-C expression and applied oncolytic virotherapy using avian paramyxoviruses APMV-1 and APMV-4, observing tumor growth, immune cell changes, and long-term immunity in mice.
• The result: Virotherapy of VEGF-C-expressing tumors resulted in complete responses in most mice, with durable immunity lasting over two years, linked to increased T cell densities and systemic immune responses.