If you're looking for a cold sore treatment that actually works, you could be forgiven for just wanting to wish the very existence of cold sores away, to fantasise that the virus had never blighted humanity.
But to do so might be premature, because, as it turns out, cold sores may actually have some use to humanity that goes beyond giving them hurt, pain, unsightly blemishes and, ultimately, the humility that goes with having experienced these things.
This is because scientists have recently been working with a modified version of the virus in order to create a cold sore treatment for skin cancer, and the good news is that it is showing signs of having the potential to actually work while having the crucial benefit of being low toxicity.
Melanoma patients at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust taking part in the trial have been administered a genetically modified version of the virus called T-VEC. The cold sore treatment involves injecting the virus directly into tumours; it then attacks the cancer cells but leaves the healthy cells intact.
The first patient to participate in the trial at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre in Wirral is a 67-year-old woman from Liverpool who received the injection in 2015 following a 2012 diagnosis of malignant melanoma.
This came in the wake of 20 procedures which had sought but failed to treat her skin cancer. "I am really pleased with the results. The lumps have shrunk and shrivelled," said the patient.
Although the cold sore treatment trial remains at a relatively early stage, scientists at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre believe that they are fast gaining an understanding of how it works and how it can be further utilised to stimulate patients' immune systems.
"Ultimately we hope that the research will help us identify which patients are most likely to benefit, thus helping us choose which patients to offer T-VEC to, minimising side effects while maximising treatment," said one scientist.
It may be early days, but it is great to know that even something as horrible as the cold sore virus may have its uses, though that is likely to come as little consolation next time you feel that telltale tingling and reach for the next tube of Herstat cold sore treatment.
