Researchers continue looking for cures.

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The common cold may do more than just bring on a nagging case of the sniffles. Researchers at Saint Louis University School of Medicine have discovered that a genetically modified version of the adenovirus, one of 200 viruses that cause colds, may work to attack and destroy cancer tumors. In lab tests, when the live virus was injected directly into a tumor, it worked to destroy cancer cells, apparently without seeming to affect healthy cells. Researchers speculate that, unlike chemotherapy and radiation, cold-virus treatment may have no significant side effects -- not even a cold. That's because the virus remains in the tumor and does not travel to the respiratory tract, says lead researcher William S.M. Wold, PhD, chairman of the department of molecular microbiology and immunology. The therapy is expected to go into clinical trials next. If it's proven safe and effective, it could become a treatment option for any type of cancerous tumor within a few years.

Originally published in Ladies' Home Journal magazine, April 2004.