Gene Therapy for Cancer: Is there Light at the End of the Tunnel?

Abstract

Gene therapy is a novel modality of treatment which is being explored as a treatment option. Majority of the ongoing gene therapy clinical trials are for cancer, a disease difficult to treat with the existing therapies. Hence newer modalities of treatment are emerging. In cancer gene therapy, a gene or DNA is introduced into the tumour cell which would induce the tumour cell to die either directly or indirectly. Although this therapy is still in an experimental stage, it has shown some promise and there are at least two drugs for cancer which have been approved in China—the only country to have approved gene therapy based drugs. The different strategies of tumour cell kill as well as the various methods of gene delivery will be discussed in the following sections. For any new drug or treatment to be accepted in the clinics, it has to undergo rigorous clinical trials and  approval by regulatory bodies. For gene therapy, it is a long and arduous path from research in laboratories to the clinics.