ADENOVIRUS-MEDIATED GENE-THERAPY FOR HEAD AND NECK SQUAMOUS-CELL CARCINOMAS

Advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs) have a poor p rognosis despite aggressive multimodal therapy. The goal of our study was to test the feasibility of gene transduction as a novel therapy fo r head and neck cancer. Three human HNSCC cell lines were transduced i n vitro with a replication-deficient recombinant adenovirus containing the lacZ marker gene (Ad2/CMV beta gal). Gene transduction efficiency was dependent on multiplicity of infection, duration of exposure to t he virus, and viral concentration. Next, the HEp-2 cell line was trans duced with an adenoviral vector (Ad.RSVtk) containing the herpes simpl ex virus thymidine kinase (HSVtk) gene, which, when expressed, sensiti zes transduced cells to ganciclovir (GCV). Subsequent administration o f GCV resulted in complete tumor cell killing. These results suggest t hat adenovirus-mediated transfer of HSVtk and administration of GCV ha s potential as a new therapy for HNSCC.