Title:New Gene Therapy Strategies for Cancer Treatment: A Review of Recent Patents
Volume: 7
Issue: 3
Author(s): Raul Ortiz, Consolacion Melguizo, Jose Prados, Pablo J. Alvarez, Octavio Caba, Fernando Rodriguez-Serrano, Fidel Hita and Antonia Aranega
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Cancer therapy, combined therapy, drug resistance, gene therapy, patent, vectors, gene function, GENE THERAPY VECTORS, PROAPOPTOTIC gene therapy, IMMUNOMODULATORY GENE THERAPY
Abstract: Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the Western world. The limited successes of available treatments
for cancer mean that new strategies need to be developed. The possibility of modifying the cancer cell with the introduction
of genetic material opens the way to a new approach based on gene therapy. There are still many technical difficulties
to be overcome, but recent advances in the molecular and cellular biology of gene transfer have made it likely that gene
therapy will soon start to play an increasing role in clinical practice, particularly in the treatment of cancer. Gene therapy
will probably be the therapeutic option in cases in which conventional treatments such as surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy
have failed. The development of modified vectors, and an improved understanding of interactions between the
vector and the human host, are generating inventions that are being protected by patents due to the considerable interest of
industry for their possible commercialization. We review the latest strategies, patented and/or under clinical trial, in cancer
gene therapy. These include patents that cover the use of modified vectors to increase the security and specificity, recombining
adenovirus that leads to loss or gain of gene function, activation of the patient's own immune cells to eliminate
cancer cells by expression of molecules that enhance immune responses, silencing genes related to the development of
drug resistance in patients, inhibition of angiogenesis of solid tumors by targeting the tumor vasculature, and the development
of enzymes that destroy viral or cancerous genetic material.