DELIVERY OF TUMOR-SUPPRESSOR GENES TO REVERSE THE MALIGNANT PHENOTYPE

Despite early enthusiasm and excitement, the treatment of cancer via g ene therapy is a long way from reaching fruition. The objective of thi s review is to describe the rationale as to why the delivery of genes encoding functional proteins whose activity has been lost during the i nitiation and development of cancer may be a feasible therapeutic opti on. In addition we will evaluate the limitations of the current delive ry systems and discuss how these limitations have impacted upon the pr ogress of gene therapy. Finally, we will describe and discuss the most recent attempts to deliver tumor suppressor genes to rodent models of human cancer and perhaps more importantly to human patients. As will become apparent during this review the excitement and enthusiasm for g ene therapy remains high, however, this should not diminish the challe nges that must be overcome before gene therapy becomes routine. (C) 19 97 Elsevier Science B.V.