On November 11, 2024, a Croatian researcher from the University of Zagreb, Beata Halassy, conducted a groundbreaking self-experimentation trial aimed at treating her recurrent breast cancer. Halassy, a virologist, injected herself with two engineered viruses—one from the measles and the other from vesicular stomatitis—after her third diagnosis of breast cancer, which was deemed inoperable.
The trial lasted two months, followed by a year of monoclonal antibody treatment. Remarkably, the self-administered therapy significantly reduced the tumor, which was subsequently removed during a routine surgical procedure. Four years later, there has been no recurrence of the tumor, and tissue analysis confirmed the success of her innovative approach.
Halassy faced challenges in publishing her findings, encountering initial rejections from major journals. However, her work represents the first successful clinical trial of oncolytic virotherapy in humans, sparking a public debate on the ethics and implications of self-experimentation in medical research.