The Wide Angle: Top 10 Promising Gene TherapiesBy Vicki Miskovsky
Early Stage At the age of 55, Rudolph Giuliani, then the New York City Mayor, announced that he had a treatable from of prostate cancer.
10. Prostate Cancer More than two million American men have prostate cancer, an estimate provided by the Prostate Cancer Foundation. Clinical trials are in progress using gene therapy to treat localized prostate cancer and prostate cancer that has spread to other parts of the body. One type of gene therapy that is used is called suicide gene therapy. In this therapy, a gene containing a catalyst (a substance that causes a reaction) and a nontoxic "pro-drug" are used. The therapy genes are inserted in the prostate where the catalyst changes the pro-drug into a toxic drug that kills the cancer cells. |
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