Gene
therapy for ovarian cancer shows early promise
An
ovarian cancer
vaccine has been shown to completely eradicate
or "significantly" inhibit tumors in early stage
tests on mice, say researchers.
It remains to be seen whether the results can be
translated into humans, the study notes.
Ovarian cancer is the fourth most common cancer
among women in the UK, with 6,900 new cases
annually.
The research team gave the genetically
engineered vaccine to mice implanted with human
ovarian cancer cells.
The vaccine contains cytosine deaminase which is
a 'suicide gene' that causes cells involved in
tumor production to kill themselves.
A second group of mice received the vaccine at
30 and 60 day intervals, and a control group
were not given the vaccine.
The research team found that all mice
immediately vaccinated were able to resist the
tumors, and mice vaccinated at later stages
showed "significant" resistance.
In comparison, all the non-vaccinated mice died.
"Current treatments for ovarian cancer are
fairly harsh," said report author Dr David
Bartlett, professor of surgery at the University
of Pittsburgh.
"Given their tumor selectivity and cancer
killing potential, vaccinia vectors expressing
recombinant gene products represent a potent,
non-toxic alternative for treating this deadly
disease."
The research was carried out by the University
of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and was
presented at the annual meeting of the American
Society of Gene Therapy.
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Read more at
Cancer Research UK
