Adding STING to the Tale of Oncolytic Virotherapy

The identification of Stimulator of Interferon Genes (STING) as a key cytoplasmic innate recognition molecule for DNA viruses whose function is lost in various cancers has coincided with the approval of IMLYGIC for metastatic melanoma. This represents the first replication-competent viral therapy approved for the treatment of any cancer in the USA. The role of the STING pathway in the selectivity of HSV has been addressed for the first time in Xia et al. [1].