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.

Klappentext

This book brings together all major work achieved during the last decade in the exciting and promising field of cancer gene therapy, focusing on the achievements and definition of future goals. Providing a picture of the vectors available to carry genes in human tumours, it describes the available genes with different mechanisms of action as well as different systems that could be used for targeting tumour cells in humans. A comprehensive review of the important preclinical and clinical studies in cancer gene therapy, Cancer Gene Therapy should be of interest to experts as well as to newcomers to the field.

Inhalt
The Clinical Problem.- Management Problems in Oncology.- Vectors.- Adenoviral Vectors.- Retrovirus Vectors.- Targetable Gene Delivery Vectors.- Human ?-fetoprotein Transcriptional Regulatory Sequences.- Tumor-Targeted Salmonella.- Mutant Adenoviruses Selectively Replication-Competent in Tumor Cells.- Polyoma and Papilloma Virus Vectors For Cancer Gene Therapy.- Cochleates.- The Use Of Skeletal Muscle To Express Genes For The Treatment Of Cancer.- Cell Cycle Control.- Adhesion Molecules in Cancer Biology.- Cell Cycle Control.- Apoptosis.- Killer/DR5, A Novel DNA-Damage Inducible Death Receptor Gene, Links the p53-Tumor Suppressor to Caspase Activation and Apoptotic Death.- Apoptin®.- Adenovirus-Mediated Herpes Simplex Thymidine Kinase Gene Therapy For Brain Tumors.- Development of Clinical Trial of E1A Gene Therapy Targeting HER-2/neu-overexpressing Breast and Ovarian Cancer.- Tumout Suppressor Genes.- Pre-clinical Studies with Tumor Suppressor Genes.- Gene Therapy for Liver Tumours.- Adenovirus-mediated Transfer of a p53 Gene in Ovarian Cancer.- Other Systems.- Eliciting Hyperacute Rejection as a Tumor Killing Strategy.- Innate Immune Therapy For Cancer.- Mda-7, A Novel Melanoma Differentiation Associated Gene with Promise for Cancer Gene Therapy.- Antisense and Ribozymes.- Antisense IGF and Antisense IGF-IR Therapy of Malignancy.- Sensitization of Tumors to Chemotherapy Through Gene Therapy.- Design and Testing of Ribozymes for Cancer Gene Therapy.- Ribozymes.- The Approach of Triple Helix Formation in Control of Gene Expression and The Treatment of Tumors Expressing IGF-I.- Immuno-Modulation.- Dendritic Cell-based Immunization for Cancer Therapy.- Hybrid Cell Vaccination for Cancer Immunotherapy.- Modulation of the Immune Response Through 4-1BB.- Heat Shock Proteinsin Cancer Therapy.- Bi-Specific Antibodies in Cancer Therapy.- B7.1 and Cytokines.- Intralesional Vaccinia/GM-CSF Recombinant Virus in the Treatment of Metastatic Melanoma.- Suicidal Genes.- Approaches to Gene-Directed Enzyme Prodrug Therapy (GDEPT).- Suicide Gene Therapy.- Adenoviruses as Gene Delivery Vectors.- Angiogenesis Control.- Evaluation of an Inhibitor of DNA Methylation, 5-aza-2?-Deoxycytidine, for The Treatment of Lung Cancer and the Future Role of Gene Therapy.- Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor as a Target for Cancer Gene Therapy.- Adeno-Associated Virus and Other Potential Vectors for Angiostatin and Endostatin Gene Therapy.- Matrix Metallo Proteinase.- Potential Applications of Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase (TIMP) Overexpression For Cancer Gene Therapy.