Gene Therapy and Targeted Toxins for Glioma

Title: Gene Therapy and Targeted Toxins for Glioma

Volume: 11 Issue: 3

Author(s): Maria G. Castro, Marianela Candolfi, Kurt M. Kroeger, Gwendalyn D. King, James F. Curtin, Kader Yagiz, Yohei Mineharu, Hikmat Assi, Mia Wibowo, A. K.M. Ghulam Muhammad, David Foulad, Mariana Puntel and Pedro R. Lowenstein

Affiliation:

Keywords: Glioma, gene therapy, dendritic cells, CD4T cells, CD8T cells, immunotherapy, cytokines, Flt3L, HSV1-TK, Clinical trials

Abstract: The most common primary brain tumor in adults is glioblastoma. These tumors are highly invasive and aggressive with a mean survival time of 15-18 months from diagnosis to death. Current treatment modalities are unable to significantly prolong survival in patients diagnosed with glioblastoma. As such, glioma is an attractive target for developing novel therapeutic approaches utilizing gene therapy. This review will examine the available preclinical models for glioma including xenograft, syngeneic and genetic models. Several promising therapeutic targets are currently being pursued in preclinical investigations. These targets will be reviewed by mechanism of action, i.e., conditional cytotoxic, targeted toxins, oncolytic viruses, tumor suppressors/oncogenes, and immune stimulatory approaches. Preclinical gene therapy paradigms aim to determine which strategies will provide rapid tumor regression and long-term protection from recurrence. While a wide range of potential targets are being investigated preclinically, only the most efficacious are further transitioned into clinical trial paradigms. Clinical trials reported to date are summarized including results from conditionally cytotoxic, targeted toxins, oncolytic viruses and oncogene targeting approaches. Clinical trial results have not been as robust as preclinical models predicted; this could be due to the limitations of the GBM models employed. Once this is addressed, and we develop effective gene therapies in models that better replicate the clinical scenario, gene therapy will provide a powerful approach to treat and manage brain tumors.

Cite this article as:

G. Castro Maria, Candolfi Marianela, M. Kroeger Kurt, D. King Gwendalyn, F. Curtin James, Yagiz Kader, Mineharu Yohei, Assi Hikmat, Wibowo Mia, K.M. Ghulam Muhammad A., Foulad David, Puntel Mariana and R. Lowenstein Pedro, Gene Therapy and Targeted Toxins for Glioma, Current Gene Therapy 2011; 11 (3) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/156652311795684722