Abstract
The continuous identification of molecular changes deregulating critical pathways in pancreatic tumor cells provides us with a large number of novel candidates to engineer gene-targeted approaches for pancreatic cancer treatment. Targets—both protein coding and non-coding—are being exploited in gene therapy to influence the deregulated pathways to facilitate cytotoxicity, enhance the immune response or sensitize to current treatments. Delivery vehicles based on viral or non-viral systems as well as cellular vectors with tumor homing characteristics are a critical part of the design of gene therapy strategies. The different behavior of tumoral versus non-tumoral cells inspires vector engineering with the generation of tumor selective products that can prevent potential toxic-associated effects. In the current review, a detailed analysis of the different targets, the delivery vectors, the preclinical approaches and a descriptive update on the conducted clinical trials are presented. Moreover, future possibilities in pancreatic cancer treatment by gene therapy strategies are discussed.
Highlights
The success of a gene therapy will largely depend on the activity induced by the target genes and the efficiency of gene delivery resulting from the combined effects of the delivery vector and the applied delivery route (Figure 1)
Another active prodrug-activating system is based on the transfer of cytosine deaminase (CD), an enzyme that catalyzes the deamination of cytosine to uracil, and is able to deaminate the nontoxic
In this review we summarize the main characteristics of current gene delivery vectors employed to release the genetic material to the target cell
Summary
The success of a gene therapy will largely depend on the activity induced by the target genes and the efficiency of gene delivery resulting from the combined effects of the delivery vector and the applied delivery route (Figure 1). We present a narrative review that summarizes the recent knowledge on the use of gene therapy for the treatment of pancreatic cancer
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