Gene therapy and nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

In 2003, a non-replicating adenoviral gene therapy product received the world`s first government licence for the treatment of head and neck cancer. Two years later approval was granted to a replication-selective adenovirus for the treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in combination with chemotherapy. This review introduces the reader to gene therapy as an emerging treatment modality, and outlines its application to the management of nasopharyngeal carcinoma by examining recent pre-clinical and clinical research.