Cancer Gene Therapy Past Achievements and Future Challenges

With the coming of the new millennium we are witnessing a revolution in our understanding of cancer genetics. These are very exciting times. Today we have at our disposal the technology to diagnose abnormalities in our cancer genes and the means to correct the deficit and very soon we will have the complete sequence of the human genome. With the use of gene chip technology the way doctors will be able to assess patients will change completely. Today we can diagnose abnormalities in ten thousand genes and within a short period of time we will be able to screen through our genome and discover potential abnormalities in our proto-oncogenes, tumour suppressor genes, differentiating genes, apoptotic genes and pro-inflammatory genes. In this book various authors have highlighted specific genes that could be expressed, overexpressed, neutralised or h- nessed to achieve cancer control. The problem of transferring the therapeutic gene into the cancer cell has been partly addressed with major developments in the field of naked plasmid DNA, adenovirus, retrovirus and adeno-associated viruses. However, further improvements are yet to be made to achieve significant gene transfer. Gene expression, in particular specificity of gene transfer, is obviously an important issue and one which is highlighted in this book by the use of specific promoter.

Preface. The Clinical Problem: 1. Management Problems in Oncology; S. J. Cleator, P. Price. Vectors: 2. Adenoviral Vectors; P. Seth. 3. Retrovirus Vectors; Y. Takeuchi, M. Pizzato. 4. Targetable Gene Delivery Vectors; P. L. Hallenbeck, S. C. Stevenson. 5. Human alpha-fetoprotein Transcriptional Regulatory Sequences: Application to Gene Therapy; T. Tamaoki. 6. Tumor-Targeted Salmonella: Highly Selective Delivery Vectors; D. Bermudes, et al. 7. Mutant Adenoviruses Selectively Replication-Competent in Tumor Cells; M. Sunamura. 8. Polyoma and Papilloma Virus Vectors for Cancer Gene Therapy; N. Krauzewicz, B. E. Griffin. 9. Cochleates: Lipid-Based Vehicles for Gene Delivery Concept, Achievements and Future Development; L. Zarif, R. J. Mannino. 10. The Use of Skeletal Muscle to Express Genes for the Treatment of Cancer; G. Goldspink, M. Winslet. Cell Cycle Control: 11. Adhesion Molecules in Cancer Biology; Y. Ohene-Abuakwa, M. Pignatelli. 12. Cell Cycle Control; V. J. Tannoch, et al. Apoptosis: 13. Killer DR5: A Novel DNA-Damage Inducible Death Receptor Gene Links the p53-Tumour Suppressor to Caspase Activation and Apoptic Death; G. S. Wu, et al. 14. Apoptinâ ; A. Pietersen, M. H. M. Noteborn. 15. Adenovirus-Mediated Herpes Simplex Thymidine Kinase Gene Therapy For Brain Tumours; A-M. Sandmair . 16. Development of Clinical Trial of E1A Gene Therapy Targeting HER-2/neu-overexpressing Breast and Ovarian Cancer; M-C. Hung, etal. Tumour Supressor Genes: 17. Pre-clinical Studies with Tumour Suppressor Genes; P. Seth. 18. Gene Therapy for Liver Tumours; R.R. Mitry, et al. 19. Adenovirus-mediated Transfer of a p53 Gene in Ovarian Cancer; J. Kigawa, N. Terakawa. Other Systems: 20. Eliciting Hyperacute Rejection as a Tumor Killing Strategy: Herpes Amplicon Vector Transfer of the &agr; (1,3)Galactosyltransferase Gene; C.J. Link Jr, et al. 21. Innate Immune Therapy for Cancer: Seeking for Effective Molecules for Activation of the Innate Immune System; T. Seya, et al. 22. Mda-7: A Novel Melanoma Differentiation Associated Gene with Promise for Cancer Gene Therapy; M.T. Madireddi, et al. Antisense and Ribozymes: 23. Antisense IGF and Antisense IGF-IR Therapy of Malignancy; H. Wang, et al. 24. Sensitisation of Tumours to Chemotherapy Through Gene Therapy; R. A. Gjerset, D. Mercola. 25. Design and Testing of Ribozymes for Cancer Gene Therapy; J.S. Norris, et al. 26. Ribozymes: Their Design and Use in Cancer; P.C. Turner. 27. The Approach of Triple Helix Formation in Control of Gene Expression and the Treatment of Tumours Expressing IGF-1; L.C. Upegui-Gonzalez, et al. Immuno-Modulation: 28. Dendritic Cell-based Immunization for Cancer Therapy; M.A. Morse, H.K. Lyerly. 29. Hybrid Cell Vaccination for Cancer Immunotherapy; P. Walden. 30. Modulation of the Immune Response Through 4-1BB; G. Sica, L. Chen. 31. Heat Shock Proteins in Cancer Therapy; K.V. Lukacs, et al. 32. Bi-Speci