Abstract:Tremendous advances have been made in developing oncolytic viruses in the last few years. Viral infection and amplification eventually induce cancer cells into cell death pathways and elicit host antitumor immune responses. Specifically targeted molecules or signaling pathways in cancer cells or in the tumor microenvironment have been studied and a variety of oncolytic viruses such as adenovirus, herpes simplex virus, poxvirus, measles virus, Newcastle disease virus and influenza virus have been identified. In this review, the characteristics of oncolytic viruses for cancer therapy are discussed.