Personalized gene therapy to fight against Cancer

Gene therapies have already found clinical successes in the treatment of several non-cancer diseases, though the oncolytic or immune system-assisted destruction of tumors relies on specific mechanisms not necessarily transferrable from other gene therapies. "Gene therapies for cancer are ideal and potentially much more effective for certain cancer types when using a targeted approach (cancer cell specificity) and recruiting the patient's own immune system," said Bruce Carlson, Publisher of Kalorama Information. "Advanced forms of cancer are able to progress due to the immune system's inability to recognize the threat."
The following is a partial review of prospective clinical gene therapies for cancer that are in Phase III trials:

• Advantagene's Gene Mediated Cytotoxic Immunotherapy (GMCI) gene therapy technique is featured in the Phase III study begun 2011 for newly diagnosed prostate cancer. The GMCI ProstAtak therapy uses an adenovirus vector to deliver (mediate) the delivery of a herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (tk) gene to tumor cells at the site of the injection. The tk gene works as a 'suicide gene' that allows for the enzymatic conversion of a non-toxic, antiviral drug Valacyclovir into a cytotoxic drug that causes tumor cell death during radiotherapy.
• VBL Therapeutics plans to begin Phase III trials for its VB-111 lead product for the treatment of recurrent glioblastoma multiforme in mid-2015. The gene therapy targets a highly malignant type of brain tumor that generates vasculature tissue in a process known as angiogenesis. Angiogenic tumors are the target of VBL's Vascular Targeting System (VTS). VB-111 is intended for combination with chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
• Amgen demonstrated in its recent Phase III trial that its talimogene laherparepvec (T-Vec) gene therapy resulted in tumor shrinkage and remission for metastatic melanoma patients. Amgen is seeking to improve its T-Vec therapy in clinical trials for melanoma by pairing it with oncology drugs.
• Cold Genesys is advancing to Phase III trials for its adenovirus-mediated oncolytic gene therapy targeting invasive bladder cancer. Similar to T-Vec, Cold Genesys' CG0070 modified virus contains a cancer-specific promoter sequence and GM-CSF-encoding sequence that serves to selectively lyse cancer cells and release GM-CSF antigen to train the immune system. Cold Genesys underwent a round of financing in mid-2014 with the goal of funding CG0070's Phase III trials.