Gene Therapy Hurdle Cleared
Truly revolutionary cancer research is taking place; we have reached the point in capabilities and understanding that allows rapid, amazing progress. Here, EurekAlert reports in progress in the basics of gene therapy using viral vectors: "When added to a mix of normal and prostrate cancer cells, the virus entered both but only produced the toxic protein inside the cancer cells. All the prostrate cancer cells died while the normal cells were unaffected. ... What's exciting is we may now be able to design a therapy that will seek out and destroy only cancer cells ... We hope it will be particularly powerful in eradicating metastases that we can't see and that can't be eliminated by surgery or radiation. Gene therapy, especially for cancer, is really starting to make a comeback."
Link: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-01/cuco-crl012505.php