Both the results obtained here, and the observation that none of the six NC cell lines intrinsically produce IFN-β or are able to react to T-VEC infection with an IFN-β response (data not shown), suggest that NC tumors indeed are particularly well suited for immunotherapy with this generally IFN-sensitive virotherapeutic agent and that a possible explanation for this may lie in distinct defects in IFN signaling pathways in this hitherto rather uncharacterized tumor entity. The gene discussed is IFNA1; the disease is neoplasm.