Breast Cancer: Cell and Gene Therapy

Abstract

INTRODUCTION Breast cancer will affect 1 in 9 women in the United States. Approximately 181,000 new cases are diagnosed in the United States each year. Despite early detection methods and advanced treatments, 46,000 women will die each year from breast cancer (1). Approximately 27% of all women's malignancies are breast cancer, and among women between the ages of 40 and 55, it is the leading cause of death. The primary treatments for breast cancer have not changed radically over the last 20 years and include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and endocrine therapy. Most newer developments involve combinational therapies, such as repetitive cycle chemotherapy together with growth factors and high-dose chemotherapy coupled with autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation. Each of these therapies relies on the use of cytotoxic agents that to some extent, preferentially target rapidly dividing or metabolizing cells. However, many debilitating side effects are associated with such relatively nonspecific therapies. The administration of sufficient doses of these agents to minimize tumor burden often is associated with significant morbidity and mortality risks.