"Genes are the entire basis of our existence".
The tiniest changes or mutations in our gene or DNA can lead to deleterious consequences.
What is gene therapy?
Gene therapy aims to fix genes, it delivers a healthy copy of a gene into a cell to replace or inactivate a damaged gene.
In other words, consider delivering a functional gene to a patient, it (the functional gene) will compensate for that defective gene and produce its product.
But specifically how is it done?
By the ex-vivo approach.
What does that mean?
You need to extract the lymphocytes from the patient's bone marrow, modify them outside in a culture with artificial conditions, then add a functional copy of this gene, and insert them inside these lymphocytes with the help of a "Viral Vector". Finally, inject them back into the body.
You will use viruses as a vehicle to transfer a gene, because they can recognize certain cells and carry genetic material into the genes of those cells.
Is it safe?
Yes it is, partially.
Developing this innovative area is quite complex, because our bodies have rather evolved to naturally fight off viruses, not welcome them and recognize them as intruders. So, whenever you want to use a virus as a vector you should get rid of all the harmful genes that could cause some diseases.
But the problem here is that some of these vectors can integrate the genetic material into a chromosome and cause errors leading to cancer in some patients.
So are viruses considered to be cancer therapy or cancer initiator?
Cancer is well known as a major global health concern.The most traditional therapies that are already used for cancer and can extend the survival time of patients with cancer are surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy.
Viruses as a cancer therapy:
Many viruses are effective in cancer treatment.
Recently, virotherapy has attracted more attention as an effective agent in cancer treatment. Such as Adenoviruses, and herpes simplex viruses (HSV) that can replicate in tumor cells, causing cancer cells to die. Besides, some virus species have anticancer effects by enhancing the host immune system.This study aimed to completely review the role of viruses in cancer as well as the latest advances in the anticancer applications of viruses.
Viruses as a cancer initiator:
Viral vectors are the most likely to induce an immune response.
A virus can enter a living cell and take over the cell’s machinery, reproduce and make more viruses. Some viruses do this by inserting their own DNA (or RNA) into the host cell. When the DNA or RNA affects the host cell’s genes, it can push the cell toward becoming cancerous, especially those like adenovirus and AAV which express immunogenic epitopes within the organism.
Moreover, each type of virus tends to infect only a certain type of cell in the body.
Conclusion:
Researchers continue to work to overcome the many technical challenges of gene therapy.
Viral-based treatment presents immense promise. However, challenges remain on the path to widespread clinical translation of viral vectors.
The immunogenicity, off-target, and delivery efficiency of viral vectors are the areas that require further research.
So does continually enhancing the viral vectors and developing safer products bring a brilliant future to the fight against cancer?
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