This is a big simplification.
1. The interaction between oncolytic virotherapy and host immunity is complex. Consider that oncolytic viruses are also targeted by the immune system.
2. Oncolytic viruses that directly destroy cancer cells may not depend on a host immune response at all for therapeutic effectiveness.
3. There are many common chemotherapy agents that enhance anti-tumor immunity. For example, 5FU is understood to enhance anti-tumor response and activate the p53 pathway.
4. Immunosuppressive chemotherapies can still enhance anti-tumor immunity by changing the tumor microenvironment. This is one of the principles behind combined chemo-immunotherapy regimes in treatment of solid tumors.
5. Some immune cells promote tumor growth and suppress anti-tumor immunity. Tumor associated myeloid cells are one example of an immune cell suppressed by chemotherapy that promote tumor survival.
This is just scratching the surface of some of the complexities here. In general, cancer and cancer treatment are incredibly complex with massive variation not just between types of cancer but within individual cancers themselves. Oncology does not lend itself to simplistic thinking.
1. The interaction between oncolytic virotherapy and host immunity is complex. Consider that oncolytic viruses are also targeted by the immune system.
2. Oncolytic viruses that directly destroy cancer cells may not depend on a host immune response at all for therapeutic effectiveness.
3. There are many common chemotherapy agents that enhance anti-tumor immunity. For example, 5FU is understood to enhance anti-tumor response and activate the p53 pathway.
4. Immunosuppressive chemotherapies can still enhance anti-tumor immunity by changing the tumor microenvironment. This is one of the principles behind combined chemo-immunotherapy regimes in treatment of solid tumors.
5. Some immune cells promote tumor growth and suppress anti-tumor immunity. Tumor associated myeloid cells are one example of an immune cell suppressed by chemotherapy that promote tumor survival.
This is just scratching the surface of some of the complexities here. In general, cancer and cancer treatment are incredibly complex with massive variation not just between types of cancer but within individual cancers themselves. Oncology does not lend itself to simplistic thinking.