Abstract
Radiation has been a well-established modality in cancer treatment for several decades. Significant improvements have been achieved in radiotherapy over the years due to technological advances and development of facilities for delivery of charged particles such as protons. Nonetheless, the potential for tumor control with radiotherapy must always be carefully balanced with the risk for normal tissue damage. In addition, tumor cells outside the immediate field of radiation exposure or that have metastasized to distant sites are not destroyed. Gene therapy offers many exciting possibilities by which the overall efficacy of radiotherapy may be improved, while minimizing unwanted side effects. This review highlights several of the most promising gene transfer approaches that are currently being evaluated in combination with radiation in the treatment of cancer. Results from studies utilizing genes encoding molecules that function in apoptosis, radiosensitization, immune up-regulation, angiogenesis, DNA repair, normal tissue protection from radiation damage, and tumor targeting are discussed. The evidence indicates that many of these innovative gene-based strategies have great potential to augment radiotherapy, as well as other established forms of cancer treatment, in the near future.
Keywords: ionizing radiation, protons, radiosensitization, radiation-inducible promoters, targeted gene therapy, suicide genes, immunogenes
Current Gene Therapy
Title: Combining Gene Therapy and Radiation Against Cancer
Volume: 4 Issue: 3
Author(s): Daila S. Gridley and James M. Slater
Affiliation:
Keywords: ionizing radiation, protons, radiosensitization, radiation-inducible promoters, targeted gene therapy, suicide genes, immunogenes
Abstract: Radiation has been a well-established modality in cancer treatment for several decades. Significant improvements have been achieved in radiotherapy over the years due to technological advances and development of facilities for delivery of charged particles such as protons. Nonetheless, the potential for tumor control with radiotherapy must always be carefully balanced with the risk for normal tissue damage. In addition, tumor cells outside the immediate field of radiation exposure or that have metastasized to distant sites are not destroyed. Gene therapy offers many exciting possibilities by which the overall efficacy of radiotherapy may be improved, while minimizing unwanted side effects. This review highlights several of the most promising gene transfer approaches that are currently being evaluated in combination with radiation in the treatment of cancer. Results from studies utilizing genes encoding molecules that function in apoptosis, radiosensitization, immune up-regulation, angiogenesis, DNA repair, normal tissue protection from radiation damage, and tumor targeting are discussed. The evidence indicates that many of these innovative gene-based strategies have great potential to augment radiotherapy, as well as other established forms of cancer treatment, in the near future.
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Cite this article as:
Gridley S. Daila and Slater M. James, Combining Gene Therapy and Radiation Against Cancer, Current Gene Therapy 2004; 4 (3) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1566523043346318
DOI https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1566523043346318 |
Print ISSN 1566-5232 |
Publisher Name Bentham Science Publisher |
Online ISSN 1875-5631 |
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Programmed Cell Death (PCD) is recognized as a pivotal biological mechanism with far-reaching effects in the realm of cancer therapy. This complex process encompasses a variety of cell death modalities, including apoptosis, autophagic cell death, pyroptosis, and ferroptosis, each of which contributes to the intricate landscape of cancer development and ...read more
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