Gene Therapy Cancer Definition and History – Cancer or malignant tumor is a disease caused by the presence of uncontrolled growth of cells or tissues. There are several factors that cause cancer, including genetic factors, carcinogenic factors such as chemicals, radiation, viruses and hormones and lifestyle factors.
Globocan data show that by 2020 there are 400 thousand new cases with a mortality rate of 234 thousand for cancer. A cancer treatment that is currently widely used is chemotherapy. However, cancer treatment with this method has side effects such as hair loss and indigestion.
Since Watson and Crick discovered the double helix structure of DNA in 1953, DNA recombinant technology and molecular biology have evolved very rapidly. Even the complete DNA sequence of the human genome of 3 billion base pairs has been successfully identified through the human genome project (1990-2003).
This advancement paves the way for a new generation of advanced technology-based medicine, including gene medicine (genetic diagnosis and gene therapy), regenerative medicine, robotic medicine, molecular medicine and nano-medicine.
Recent developments in cell and molecular biology have not only contributed to the understanding of the molecular basis of the disease, but also provided potential technologies for the manipulation of genes in vivo. \
With the knowledge that diseases in humans are caused by abnormalities in gene expression and regulation, gene therapy develops in the hope that functional genes inserted into cells can improve cell function and produce the necessary gene products, then compensate for genetic abnormalities and cure diseases.
The development of knowledge and technology has created new therapeutic approaches for cancer, especially gene therapy. Gene therapy is a method of removing or altering genetic material to improve abnormal genes, so that it can treat certain diseases.
A Japanese GP who researched cancer treatment methods, Tetsuyuki Hirahata, found that cancer can be cured through gene therapy. Through gene examination can also be known the activeness of cancer cells in a person’s body so that the appearance of the deadly disease in a person’s body can be prevented.
One of the advantages of gene therapy is that patients have a greater chance of recovery as well as milder side effects.
What is Gene Therapy Cancer?
Basically, people suffer from a disease because there is an abnormality in the genes. Diseases make a person’s genes become abnormal or vice versa, abnormal genes are strongly correlated with the potential for diseases that a person can suffer.
Gene therapy is a technique used to repair mutant genes (abnormal / defective) that are responsible for the occurrence of a disease. In the beginning, gene therapy was created to treat hereditary (genetic) diseases that occur due to mutations in one gene, such as cystic fibrosis disease. The use of gene therapy in the disease is done by inserting specific normal genes into cells that have mutant genes.
History of gene therapy cancer
The history of Gene Therapy in the early 1970s, scientists proposed what they called “gene surgery” to treat inherited diseases caused by defective genes. Scientists conducted an experiment in which a gene that produces enzymes to repair the disease was injected into a group of cells. Scientists theorize the cells could then be injected into people with Lesch-Nyhan disease.
The development of gene therapy over the last 4 decades, gene therapy has moved from preclinical to clinical studies for a variety of diseases ranging from monogenic recessive disorders such as hemophilia to more complex diseases such as cancer, heart disorders, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
Gene therapy, then developed to treat diseases that occur due to mutations in many genes, such as cancer. In addition to inserting normal genes into mutant cells, other gene therapy mechanisms that can be used are to homologous recombination to eliminate abnormal genes with normal genes, prevent abnormal gene expression through gene silencing techniques, and perform selective reverse mutations so that abnormal genes can function normally again.
