Gene therapy for cancer

The structure of DNA was unraveled by Watson and Crick in 1953, and two dec ades later Arber, Nathans and Sn-dth discovered DNA restriction enzymes whi ch led to the rapid growth in the field of recombinant DNA technology. From expressing cloned genes in bacteria to expressing foreign DNA in transgeni c animals, DNA is now slated to be used as a therapeutic agent to replace d efective genes in patients suffering from genetic disorders or to kill tumo ur cells in cancer patients. Thus a new modality of treatment has emerged b ased on recombinant DNA technology which is termed as gene therapy. Althoug h single gene defects are more amenable to gene therapy, majority of the on going clinical trials are for treatment of cancer. Various strategies are n ow being tested in clinical trials in gene therapy for cancer.