Curing Cancer by Virus: The Science and the Legend
By Tanner Miest
Published: February / March 2008 | Vol. 01 No. 02
The film I Am Legend chronicles the rise and fall of humanity at the hands of therapeutic measles virus (MV), which cures cancer but mutates into a human pathogen that kills billions and leaves infected survivors rabid and cannibalistic. This depiction in I Am Legend illustrates our society’s justified interest and hope in the therapeutic potential of cancer-killing viruses, but the film’s depictions of virus efficacy and safety are not supported by current science.