GENE TECHNOLOGY: A NEW WAY TO TREAT CANCER

Abstract

Gene therapy is the process of introducing genetic material RNA or DNA into a person's cells to fight disease. Gene therapy treats disease by either replacing damaged or missing genes with normal ones, or by providing new genes. The concept of gene therapy was born more than thirty years ago; however, new technology is opening the door to dramatically new possibilities in the treatment of cancers of all kinds. The long-term goal of cancer gene therapy is to develop treatments that attack only cancer cells, thereby eliminating adverse effects on the body and improving the possibility to cure disease. Gene therapy may someday soon make cancer a manageable disease with nominal side effects to the patients. Furthermore, since gene therapy has potential for other diseases such as cystic fibrosis, hemophilia, sickle-cell anemia, muscular dystrophy and Parkinson's, the value of research and discovery has broad applications.