The Sixth Annual Meeting of the American Society of Gene Therapy

Abstract

thought to be a multistep process of sequential genetic lesions that take a cell from a normal phenotype through various stages of hyperplasia to a blatantly malignant phenotype—at least for solid tumor development. The development of leukemia may not necessarily follow such a path, and the adverse event in the French trial may eventually provide valuable information on the mechanism of leukemogenesis. Robert Weinberg presented this year’s Presidential Symposium, outlining work in his lab and others to understand the diversity and idiosyncratic nature of the genetic roadmap leading to cancer development in specific tissues, as well as the effects of surrounding tissues on the cancer cell. The Corporate Symposium this year focused on oncolytic viruses for cancer therapy, many of which have made their way to the clinic. While promising results have been obtained in many cases, a familiar theme was the need for better systems to evaluate these antitumor agents and the need to develop viruses that are more robust in their effects upon tumor cells relative to other cells of the host. Nevertheless, the symposium highlighted the slow but inexorable march of gene therapeutics out of the lab and into the complex world of clinical medicine. It would be impossible here to give more than a bird’s eye view of the work presented at this year’s meeting. With over 1200 abstracts submitted from laboratories around the world, the meeting represented the breadth of research into molecular and cellular therapies based on gene transfer and gene modification technology. Some may eventually work in patients, and many will not. However, as outgoing ASGT President Joe Glorioso stated in his farewell address to the attendees, “On balance, we are pioneering a new wave of genetic medicines. Progress is not without setbacks, and the path requires faith, innovation, stamina, and reason.”