Virus disrupts cancer cells survival but doesn't harm normal cells.

Viruses are no longer simply the bad guy in the spectrum of human health. In fact, certain viruses can be used to selectively destroy cancer cells. Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine have discovered that the vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) works to kill cancer cells by interfering with the AKT signaling pathway, a key component to cell survival. Furthermore, this virus does not appear to affect healthy human cells because normal cells are capable of triggering a response to fight off infection. Once a cell becomes cancerous, it can no longer trigger this response.