Local fundraising efforts have resulted in "promising" results from an Ottawa doctor's trial of cancer-fighting viruses.

Dr. John Bell of the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) said in a study published Wednesday that a virus given through an IV has effectively attacked tumours in cancer patients.

"We are very excited because this is the first time in medical history that a viral therapy has been shown to consistently and selectively replicate in cancer tissue after intravenous infusion in humans," Dr. Bell said in a news release.

He likened it to the 1960's movie The Fantastic Voyage where doctors were shrunk and injected into a body to fight a killer disease.

"Basically that's what viruses are doing – little biological machines that we inject into the blood system," he said. "They move around the body and find where the tumour is – they destroy it, and when the tumour is gone, the virus is gone."

The trial, published in the journal Nature, said 23 patients (including seven at the Ottawa Hospital) were given varying levels of the oncolytic (cancer-fighting) virus JX-594.

Of the eight patients given the highest dose, seven had evidence that the virus was multiplying inside the tumours.

Six of those eight also saw their tumours stop growing or shrink.

"Oncolytic viruses are unique because they can attack tumours in multiple ways, they have very mild side effects compared to other treatments, and they can be easily customized for different kinds of cancer," said Dr. Bell.

"We're still in the early stages of testing these viruses in patients," he said, mentioning he's about to start a second trial with those results out in 18 to 24 months. "But I believe that someday, viruses and other biological therapies could truly transform our approach for treating cancer."

The release said those side effects were mild to moderate flu-like symptoms.

Dr. Bell and his team at OHRI have been working on these cancer-fighting viruses for over ten years, according to the release.

His research has been supported by local fundraisers including Ride the Rideau, a 100-kilometre bike ride that raised $901,000 in 2010.

Dr. Bell will be riding in this year's event on Sept. 10, along with many other researchers and staff from the Ottawa Hospital.

With a report from CTV Ottawa's Michael O'Byrne