Does gene therapy show promise against prostate cancer?

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  A Johns Hopkins Medicine answered

  Researchers at Johns Hopkins are working to program the body's DNA like a computer chip, sending it on a selective "search-and-destroy" mission targeted only at prostate cancer cells. Their goal is gene therapy using the body's own tools, DNA molecules, to treat cancer that can't be cured by surgery or radiation - and they're coming at it from two angles: genetically engineered vaccines made from cancer cells, and doctored viruses that act as Trojan horses, slipping into the body, attaching themselves to prostate cancer cells and exterminating them before they even suspect anything's amiss.
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  A The Mount Sinai Health System answered

  Advancements in genetic engineering, immunobiology and tumor biology have all made gene therapy for prostate cancer a promising treatment option. Many clinical trials are investigating the effects of genetic therapies such as suicide genes, tumor suppressor genes and anti-oncogenes as we speak. Such therapies can act directly by inducing tumor cell death or indirectly by increasing the regulatory component of our immune system to better target tumor cells and destroy tumor vasculature. Other research ranges from preventing prostate cancer entirely to preventing cancer recurrence. With all of these promising methods, however, it is important to note that much more research is needed to determine the specific genes, vectors and delivery methods to target the tumor cells and ensure the most effective, potent and safest treatment option for prostate cancer.
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