Gene therapy for carcinoma of the breast - Genetic toxins

Gene therapy was initially envisaged as a potential treatment for genetical ly inherited, monogenic disorders. The applications of gene therapy have no w become wider, however, and include cardiovascular diseases, vaccination a nd cancers in which conventional therapies have failed. With regard to onco logy, various gene therapy approaches have been developed. Among them, the use of genetic toxins to kill cancer cells selectively is emerging. Two dif ferent types of genetic toxins have been developed so far: the metabolic to xins and the dominant-negative class of toxins. This review describes these two different approaches, and discusses their potential applications in ca ncer gene therapy.