Adenoviral Gene Therapy

Learning Objectives After completing this course, the reader should be able to:Understand the advantages and disadvantages of recombinant adenoviral vectors for gene delivery.Review the current biological strategies employed in clinical trials utilizing adenoviral mediated gene therapy for cancer.Understand modifications that may improve the utility of adenoviral vectors for gene therapy approaches. Access CME test online and receive one hour category 1 credit at CME.TheOncologist.com As of May 2001, 532 gene therapy protocols had been approved for evaluation in clinical trials; however, only five of those had been evaluated in phase III clinical trials. Among the most commonly used vectors for the delivery of genetic material into human cells are the adenoviruses. Remarkable progress has been made with these vectors in the last decade, but some shortcomings continue to challenge investigators. The newly acquired knowledge of the adenoviral life cycle and the positive outcomes from phase II clinical trials have led to the application of vectors engineered to selectively target tumor tissue under controlled promoters.