Curing Cancer

Dateline: 02/03/00

Dr. Norman Nevin from the Queen's University of Belfast has announced that for the first time, gene therapy has been used to cure a woman who was dying of ovarian cancer. The treatment took place some four years ago at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London but it has taken until now to determine that the woman was successfully cured as the cancer has not returned.

In the study, the scientists modified a simple cold virus to carry human genetic material. The cancerous cells were then infected with the virus. Amazingly, the modified virus was able to stop the cancer cells from continuing to multiply.

Thousands of women develop ovarian cancer each year and a significant number of these women die from the disease. The tumors typically develop "obscurely" and are difficult to detect until they have reached a critical size. This treatment raises hope as ovarian cancer is one of the most difficult forms of cancer to treat.

Generally speaking, a person who is alive four years after the last incidence of ovarian cancer is considered cured, hence the long duration between the treatment and the announcement of success by the researchers.

Adenovirus, a mild pathogen that can cause a cold, similar to the virus used in the study. Image courtesy of Linda M. Stannard, University of Cape Town.

This was the first successful use of gene therapy to cure a person of cancer. The researchers hope that it will soon be tested and applied to other forms of cancer.

Current trials for a very similar gene therapy technique are underway at the University of Kentucky and at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

What do you think? How close do you think this puts us to finding a cure for all forms of cancer? Do you think that the techniques used will be applicable to other forms of cancer? Come on over to the Biology Forum and share your thoughts, opinions and feelings. Till next time...

For additional information see:

Cold Virus With P53 Gene Tested To Combat Ovarian Cancer
News release from the start of the trials at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

Ovarian Cancer Gene Therapy Trial Using Cold Virus To Begin At University Of Kentucky
News release from the start of the trials at the University Of Kentucky.