The virus, called adeno-associated virus type 2, or AAV-2, infects an estimated 80 percent of the population.
AAV-2 is a small virus that cannot replicate itself without the help of another virus, but with the help of a second virus it kills cells. In this case it effectively kills cancerous cells, and apparently, with no harmful side-effects on normal cells.” Lab results suggest that adeno-associated virus type 2, which infects the majority of the population but has no known ill effects, kills multiple types of cancer cells, yet it has no effect on healthy cells,” said Craig Meyers, a professor of microbiology and immunology at the Penn State College of Medicine in Pennsylvania.”
It is believed that AAV-2 recognizes that the cancer cells are abnormal and destroys them. This suggests that AAV-2 has great potential to be developed as an anti-cancer agent.