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Experimental Gene Therapy for Cancers

What is gene therapy?

Gene therapy is an experimental technique that uses genes to treat or prevent
disease. In the future, this technique may allow doctors to treat a disorder by
inserting a gene into a patient's cells instead of using drugs or surgery. Researchers
are testing several approaches to gene therapy, including:
*Replacing a mutated gene that causes disease with a healthy copy of
the gene.
* Inactivating,or "knocking out,"a mutated gene that is functioning
improperly.
*Introducing a new gene into the body to help fight a disease.
Although gene therapy is a promising treatment option for a number of diseases
(including inherited disorders, some types of cancer, and certain viral infections),
the technique remains risky and is still under study to make sure that it will be safe
and effective. Gene therapy is currently only being tested for the treatment of
diseases that have no other cures.

A brief history and review on gene therapy:Gene therapy is a rapidly growing field of medicine in which genes are introduced into the body to treat diseases. Genes control heredity and provide the basic biological code for determining a cell's specific functions....

Refer to:

1.Gene Therapy for Cancer : questions and answers.

2.Targeted delivery of NK4 to multiple lung tumors by bone marrow-derived

mesenchymal stem cells

3.Strategies for gene therapy

4.Apoptosis genes in cancer therapy

5.Interferon-beta gene therapy for cancer: basic research to clinical application

6.Targeting in gene therapy for gliomas

7.Gene therapy : the latest RSS news