Abstract
A major limitation of conventional chemotherapies used in cancer treatments today are low therapeutic indices and side effects that result from drug effects on normal tissues (off target). One of the most innovative approaches to developing antineoplastic agents with increased tumor selectivity is the use of suicide gene therapy. Suicide gene therapy involves delivering a gene product in proximity to the targeted cancer tissue through various targeted delivery methods followed by tissue/tumor-specific expression of the gene product which then converts a systemically available pro-drug into an active drug within the tumor locale. Here we summarize the concept of gene therapy for cancer and introduce the most frequently used suicide gene therapy systems. In addition we discuss viral, molecular and cellular vectors and their advantages and disadvantages. Finally, we describe the clinical applications, limitations and potential side effects of suicide gene therapy to date.
Highlights
Cancer and its treatment are an immense burden on the individual patient and on the entire healthcare system
Despite some improvements in outcomes of cancer patients, the high rate of cancer related deaths and overall rising incidence of cancer highlights some of the limitations of conventional cancer treatment strategies such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgical resection
Chemotherapy has long been the cornerstone of cancer treatment [2]
Summary
Z Keung and Claudius Conrad1* 1Department of Surgical Oncology, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA 2Department of Surgery, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA 3Medizinische Klinik und Poliklinik IV, AG Biochemistry, University of Munich, Munich, Germany
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