Immunogene therapy for cancer: The current situation and a way forward

Immunogene-based therapies for cancer include ex vivo and in vivo cytokine gene transfer, as well as costimulatory molecule gene transfer. The goal is that of increasing the immunogenicity of poorly or nonimmunogenic tumors and of producing an effective antitumor vaccine. A review of clinical trials indicates that these treatments can mediate tumor regression with acceptably low toxicity. Important areas for future research include increasing the transduction efficiency of vectors, enhancing vector targeting and specificity, and identifying synergies between several cytokines and costimulatory molecules. The immunogene therapies promise a new approach for active immunotherapy of cancer and for the isolation of effector cell populations for use in adoptive immunotherapy protocols.