Gene Therapy Applications to Cancer Treatment

[摘要] Over the past ten years significant advances have been made inthe fields of gene therapy and tumour immunology, such that therenow exists a considerable body of evidence validating the proofin the principle of gene therapy based cancer vaccines. Whileclinical benefit has so far been marginal, data from preclinicaland early clinical trials of gene therapy combined with standardtherapies are strongly suggestive of additional benefit. Manyreasons have been proposed to explain the paucity of clinicalresponses to single agent vaccination strategies including thepoor antigenicity of tumour cells and the development oftolerance through down-regulation of MHC, costimulatory, signaltransduction, and other molecules essential for the generation ofstrong immune responses. In addition, there is now evidence fromanimal models that the growing tumour may actively inhibit thehost immune response. Removal of the primary tumour prior to Tcell transfer from the spleen of cancer bearing animals, led toeffective tumour cell line specific immunity in the recipientmouse suggesting that there is an ongoing tumour-hostinteraction. This model also illustrates the potentialdifficulties of clinical vaccine trials in patients with advancedstage disease.

[学科分类] 基础医学