Liver Cancer is Good Gene Therapy Target
Posted on: Wednesday, 14 February 2007, 12:02 CST
U.S. cancer researchers say they've determined liver cancer cells are excellent targets for gene therapy using adenoviral vectors.
The University of California-San Diego scientists say their findings signal a new way to treat metastatic cancers of the breast and colon that have spread to the liver.
The research team, led by Dr. Tony Reid of the university's Moores Cancer Center, says the study also demonstrates that in cancerous cells the receptor for adenovirus, called the coxsackie-adenoviral receptor, is expressed randomly over the surface of the cell and is exposed to the blood vessels.
Since the receptor is distributed randomly on the surface of tumor cells, the doorway is open for the adenoviral vectors circulating in the blood stream to infect and kill these cells, said Reid. At the same time, normal liver cells are protected. These findings may signal a new way to treat any cancer that has spread to the liver.
The study is detailed in the current issue of the journal Nature Cancer Gene Therapy.
Source: United Press International
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