A team of researchers says that the reovirus responsible for causing colds and stomach problems can be helpful in killing cancer cells, once it enters the bloodstream, says a recent report published in Science Translational Medicine.

The team from the University of Leeds and The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) in the UK has been claiming after a study that the oncolytic viruses have cancer-killing power.

A trial was conducted to test the virus, in which some patients of with advanced colorectal cancer were involved. Injecting the virus into their bloodstream, the researchers found that the virus went undercover and evaded the immune system, then reaching red blood cells.

While the same has been confirmed, the team has been trying to determine how to inject the virus in a way that the immune system is not aware of the same. It is because its alertness may cause it to destroy the virus.

The findings have raised a hope for the "viral therapy" to be used in future in place of chemotherapies given during the outpatient sessions.

“By piggybacking on blood cells, the virus is managing to hide from the body's natural immune response and reach its target intact. This could be hugely significant for the uptake of viral therapies like this in clinical practice”, said Professor Alan Melcher.