LONDON, June 26 (Reuters) - British scientists launched the country's first clinical trial of gene therapy for prostate cancer patients on Tuesday.
Thirty men will initially be recruited for the trial which will determine whether a genetically modified virus that is inserted into the tumour can turn prostate cancer cells into targets for anti-cancer drugs.
If the trial, a collaboration between the medical charity Cancer Research Campaign (CRC) and Cobra Therapeutics, a subsidiary of biotechnology firm ML Laboratories Plc (LSE: MLB.L - news) , is successful it will be expanded in Britain and begun in clinics in France and the Netherlands.
"We're keen that men with early-stage prostate cancer should put themselves forward for the trial, which could open up an entirely fresh approach to treating the disease," trial co-ordinator Dr Nick James, of the University of Birmingham, said in a statement.
The gene therapy will target only the cancerous cells, thus avoiding the debilitating side effects of conventional chemotherapy, which also harms healthy cells.
After the virus is inserted into the cancerous cells, patients will intravenously receive a so-called pro-drug. The pro-drug is usually harmless but is converted to a toxic form by a gene inside the genetically altered virus in the cancerous cells.
The gene acts as a trigger inside the cells alerting the pro-drug to attack the tumour.
"It should help us tackle some of the most stubborn, radiotherapy-resistant forms of the disease. We're optimistic that gene therapy will fulfil its enormous potential by saving the lives of many patients," James added.
The first part of the gene therapy trial will test whether the chemical trigger in the cancerous cells causes any side-effects. If it doesn't patients will receive a pro-drug called CB195 to determine its impact on the tumour... |
