Challenges of Gene Therapy in the Treatment of Cancer
Genetic modification of human DNA to help in the treatment of cancer and other long term diseases has been a controversial subject with different people around the world. The moral implications involved must always be considered in the presentation of new techniques involved in the scientist community. Gene therapy can help many families in preventing genetic disorders in the future but at the same time, it can cause other adverse effects such as in the reproductive system affecting reproduction. People who are affected by gene therapy are mostly unborn and cannot defend themselves on whether to be subjects of treatment or not especially when gene therapy targets the reproductive system. Moral ethical issues have therefore posed challenges in the commencement of gene therapy in cancer treatment.
Delivery of gene therapy in cancer patients since the transfer of genes needs a system that is stable to convert and bind transgenes in targeted tissues. The adverse immune responses have lead scientists to using non-viral technologies, which are easier to manufacture and can also be produced in bulk. This suppresses current therapies whose nano-particle technologies are composed of peptides, polymers, and lipids. Non-viral vector is successfully done in clinical trials since they can control cellular and intracellular hurdles which prove to be efficient in diagnostic outcomes. However, the non-viral vectors need to be decomposable into low molecular mass matters, respond to biological stimuli, and have effective system clearing strategies. This has led to the use of different strategies that copy gene delivery mechanisms that enhance gene delivery mechanisms necessary for efficient gene therapy. The vector is feared that it might infect the target organism with more disease since a virus is mostly used to deliver the gene into the genome.
Identification of target genes that are associated with the metastasis of cancer and its pathology is also a challenge in gene therapy. Specificity is vital especially when one wants to cleave a target RNA species in a mixture of the ribosome which is mixed together as some RNA with similar characteristics to the target. The vector used to release the gene, therefore, must be highly specific and show efficiency in releasing the specified gene despite the different sizes. Targeting wrong cells since viruses can affect different groups of cells; hence it might also affect healthy cells may not be problematic causing more mutations, damage, disease, and metastases of cancerous cells. The other challenge in gene therapy involves unwanted immune system reactions after introducing the gene. The body’s immune system might attack the new gene as an intruder which may cause organ failure and other problems related to autoimmune illnesses. The progression of the disease might also lead to the death of the patient due to opportunistic infections.
Infections caused by the virus used to transfer the gene into a cell might be revived after the insertion of the virus into the human body. The virus might recover its previous ability to cause disease hence put the life of the patient in jeopardy. Genes inserted in the wrong position during therapy are not easily extracted back, which leads to the formation of tumors. Gene therapy is also expensive therefore it is not financially accessible to people struggling with finances or in third world countries.