Although gene therapy has had success in treating some genetic diseases, it is currently available as a possible treatment for cancer only through clinical trials. It will probably be several years before gene therapy is ready for use to the general public.

There are many ongoing studies of gene therapy to treat different kinds of cancer. Some of these are using gene therapy alone, while others are looking at using it combined with more traditional treatments such as radiation or chemotherapy.

In 2006, the first successful use of gene therapy to treat cancer was reported. Researchers removed immune system cells called T-lymphocytes from the blood of 15 patients with advanced melanoma. In the lab, they used a virus to add a new gene to these cells, which enabled the cells to recognize and attack cancer cells. They then injected these cells back into the patients. More than a year after treatment, 2 of the 15 patients had had their tumors shrink to the point that they were no longer detectable. While this small study showed that gene therapy can be helpful against cancer, it may still be some time before the technique is improved upon enough to be more widely useful.

There is little doubt that the techniques used in gene therapy will continue to improve. As they do, it is likely that gene therapy will eventually become an important means of battling cancer.

Revised: 05/24/2007