Gene therapy in endocrine tumors: A comprehensive overview [Review]

• Published in: ENDOCRINE JOURNAL Vol. 61; no. 7; pp. 655 - 665
• Main Authors: Suresh, Padmanaban S., Venkatesh, Thejaswini, Tsutsumi, Rie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan The Japan Endocrine Society 2014
• Subjects: Animals; Endocrine cancers; Endocrine Gland Neoplasms - genetics; Endocrine Gland Neoplasms - therapy; Gene; Genetic Therapy - adverse effects; Genetic Therapy - trends; Humans; Mutation; Neuroendocrine Tumors - genetics; Neuroendocrine Tumors - therapy; Therapy; Translational Medical Research
• ISSN: 0918-8959; 1348-4540
• DOI: 10.1507/endocrj.EJ14-0007

Effective treatment strategies that help tackle the complex problems associated with managing endocrine cancers are in great demand. Because of the shortcomings in current treatments and the problems associated with the treatment strategies used in the cure and/or management of endocrine cancers, considerable effort must be devoted to developing new and effective therapeutic strategies. Gene therapy represents an area of both basic and clinical research that can potentially be considered a therapeutic option in treating endocrine cancers. Therefore, we consider it timely to summarize the studies related to gene-therapy interventions that are available for treating endocrine cancers and to highlight the major limitations of and the recent progress made in these therapies. After systematically reviewing the literature, we provide a comprehensive overview of distinct studies conducted to evaluate gene-therapy approaches in various endocrine cancers. Some of these successful studies have been extended toward translational investigations. The emerging view is that an integrative approach is required to combat the pitfalls associated with gene-therapy studies, especially in endocrine cancers.