Potential strategies for cancer gene therapy

Gene therapy involves transferring genetic material (DNA or RNA) to repair, regulate or replace genes to cure a disease. One of the most crucial barriers is successful delivery of the targeted gene into the target tissue. Various vector-based approaches have been developed to deliver the transgene to the target cells. In different cancers, numerous of these vectors are being developed for purposes such as immunotherapy, suicide gene therapy, microRNA (miRNA) focused treatment, oncogene silencing, and gene editing using CRISPR/Cas9. This article reviews several alternatives to cancer gene therapy, as well as their preclinical and clinical outcomes, possible limitations, and overall therapy effects. Ways of delivering cancer gene therapy include direct methods for introducing genetic material. Nonviral vectors are easy to manufacture and may be chemically modified to increase their usefulness. Cationic polymers such as Poly-L-Lysine (PLL) and Polyethylenimine (PEI-SS) are the most extensively used polycationic polymers for gene transfer, particularly in vitro. Many RNAi-based therapeutic approaches are approaching the clinical stage, and nanocarriers are likely to play a crucial role in treating specific cancers. In the previous decade, non-viral approaches were used in more than 17 percent of all gene therapy trials. The message is that this is a safe and effective technique for transferring genes to cancer patients who need it to be a safe, successful therapy. Exosomes were developed to carry oncogene-specific short interfering RNA. Sushrut and colleagues revealed that exosomes provide superior carriers of short RNA and prevent tumor growth than liposomes. Inhalation-based gene therapy (aerosol-mediated gene delivery) has gained pace as a feasible treatment approach, especially for lung cancer. Because the intended transgene is steered to specific cells/tissues, this should further increase therapeutic efficiency.