Treatment of Cancer with Gene Therapy Gene therapy has progressed over the last half century and has led to many discoveries relating to the treatment of cancer. Normal cells in the body can become cancerous by losing or gaining function. To treat cancer, scientists can either replace damaged genes (such as a damaged tumor suppressor gene) in malignant cells or prevent cells from overexpressing genes (such as oncogenes or genes that have been altered and which can cause the normal development of cancer). body tissues) (Culver, 97). Gene therapy has many advantages over other methods of cancer treatment. » Gene therapy is the insertion of a functional gene into a patient's cells to correct an inborn error of metabolism (i.e., a genetic abnormality or birth defect) to provide a new function to a cell (for example, the insertion of an immunostimulatory gene into cancer cells to vaccinate a patient against their own cancer) (Culver, xvi). There are currently two types of gene therapy. Somatic gene therapy, which is currently the only accepted method of gene therapy in humans, involves modifying all cells in the body except reproductive cells. This type of gene therapy can only cure a genetic disease for one generation. Germline gene therapy, which is currently not accepted for use in humans, involves modifying reproductive cells. This is the type of gene therapy that can cure a genetic disease over multiple generations (Culver, xvi). There are a few methods for modifying cells in gene therapy. The first method is in vivo. The in vivo method involves modifying cells inside the body. For the in vivo method to work accurately, there must be some way for the genes to reach the target cells (a middle of paper...... passes inside the cell until it is expelled by the body's immune system Cancer can be cured by gene therapy by many methods Tumor suppressor genes can be replaced, you can use genetic marking methods to find cancer cells and eliminate them. and D cells can be prevented from overexpressing genes. Gene therapy works by genetically modifying the body's cells, but not the reproductive cells (somatic gene therapy), or by modifying the reproductive cells (germline gene therapy). Two methods are used to modify genetically diseased cells to treat genetic diseases. Gene therapy is a developing field in genetics that is used to find ways to cure cancer and other diseases that have progressed over the past 50 years. years. Works Cited Culver, Kenneth W. Gene Therapy: a Primer for Physicians New York. : Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., 1996.-135.