Stem Cell Research and Regenerative Medicine

Peer-review Journals In Suicide Gene Therapy

Suicide gene therapy is an experimental treatment option with potential as a targeted therapy for mesothelioma, although it is currently available only through clinical trials. Suicide gene therapy is related to chemotherapy, one of the most effective treatment strategies for mesothelioma. Chemotherapy uses toxic drugs that target cells that divide and grow rapidly. In most cases, the drugs are administered intravenously and circulate through the bloodstream. These drugs are nonspecific, affecting both cancerous and healthy cells. As a result, healthy cells are commonly damaged, causing terrible side effects. Suicide gene therapy specifically targets cancer cells with these toxic drugs, avoiding damage to healthy cells. Targeted chemotherapy has been a major challenge in cancer treatment. Suicide gene therapy starts with a genetically-modified virus, most often the herpes simplex virus. The virus is first adapted so that it will not infect the patient with herpes. Then a gene that codes for a special protein is inserted into the virus’s genetic material. The gene from the virus is inserted into the DNA of the cancer cells. When the prodrug reaches the cancer cells, the gene expresses a special protein and the drug becomes activated. The drug then kills the cancer cells. In other words, the newly inserted gene forces the cancer cells to “commit suicide.”     

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