Viral approaches to cancer gene therapy

Abstract

The first approved human gene therapy trial was conducted in 1990 and although research has proceeded steadily over the last 11 years, the promise of gene therapy for cancer has not yet materialised. The majority of clinical trials have been at the Phase I stage and preliminary results are generally encouraging, particularly in terms of safety. The NIH recently identified three key areas of gene therapy research that should be prioritised; vector refinement and an understanding of vector-host interactions, increased understanding of disease pathogenesis to aid the development of new treatments and the identification of appropriate animal models in which to test strategies prior to clinical trials. One of the major hurdles to overcome is gene delivery and at present viral vectors remain the most promising delivery system. In this review we have compared the advantages and disadvantages of the most commonly used viruses and their potential use for cancer gene therapy.

• adenoviruses
• cancer
• cancer gene therapy
• gene delivery
• gene therapy
• retroviruses
• viral vectors
• viruses