In gene expression studies from early oHSV clinical trials, it was found that the cytokine IL27 is a potential target for therapeutic optimization. The cytokine’s expression levels are observed to be directly related to the improvement of the patient survival following treatment that includes an oncolytic HSV. Early data collected by Dr. Kevin Cassady confirms that the virus-based expression correlates with improved survival, and reduced tumor cell growth and has cleared immune cells from the tumors as well.