Gene therapy and pancreatic cancer.

Adenocarcinoma of the pancreas is associated with a short survival due to frequent delays in diagnosis and the lack of effective systemic therapies. Advances in understanding the molecular basis of pancreatic cancer have allowed identification of molecular targets which are amenable to therapeutic intervention. Such targets include p53, K-ras, p16, and DPC-4. Gene therapy involves the transfer of genetic constructs which alter the neoplastic potential of the cancer cell. Vectors used in gene transfer include viral and non-viral methods. Presently, gene therapy of pancreatic cancer is limited to pre-clinical studies using in vitro and in vivo models. However, the initial results from these pre-clinical studies have been encouraging and will form the basis for clinical studies of gene transfer in patients with pancreatic cancer.