IMR Press / FBL / Volume 13 / Issue 9 / DOI: 10.2741/2921

Frontiers in Bioscience-Landmark (FBL) is published by IMR Press from Volume 26 Issue 5 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Frontiers in Bioscience.

Article

Immuno-gene therapy approaches for cancer: from in vitro studies to clinical trials

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1 Ontario Cancer Institute, University Health Network, 67 College Street, Toronto (ON) Canada M5G 2M1
2 Henderson Hospital, 711 Concession Street, Hamilton (ON) Canada L8V 1C3

*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

 

Front. Biosci. (Landmark Ed) 2008, 13(9), 3202–3214; https://doi.org/10.2741/2921
Published: 1 May 2008
Abstract

Immunotherapy against cancer basically aims at either broadly stimulating the immune system or at engineering an immune response against a targeted tumor associated antigen (TAA). In this review, we focus on the translation of immuno-gene therapy strategies into clinical trials for various cancers. Rather than being an exhaustive compendium of the literature, the focus of this article is to underline how anti-cancer immunotherapy strategies have evolved recently. Previously, studies have used different vectors to either express immuno-stimulatory molecules or a targeted TAA. Investigators are now directing efforts to both target a TAA and to stimulate the immune system by direct or viral administration of cytokines or co-stimulatory molecules. Some groups have also tried to combine genetic immunotherapy with chemotherapy, and results have been encouraging. This novel concept might open new perspectives for the treatment of patients with advanced-stage cancer.

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