[Gene therapy and immunotherapy in prostatic carcinoma].
Although local prostate cancer (PC) can be cured in most cases by radical prostatectomy, therapies for metastatic and androgen-independent PC are limited and rather unsatisfactory. Gene and immunotherapy based on progress in molecular biology are novel treatment options especially for these PC stages. In the field of passive immunotherapy, chimeric/recombinant antibodies and derivatives thereof show promising results in early clinical trails (phase I/II). Before treatment, a careful selection of patients who could profit from this therapy is important (theranostics). Concerning active immunotherapy, administration of dendritic cells loaded with PC-specific tumor antigens seems to be an interesting therapy option. Promising gene therapeutic approaches include antisense and suicide gene therapy. Antisense therapy studies revealed the advantage that even systemic treatment does not lead to strong toxic side effects if the target gene is not involved in important cell functions. Improvement of the gene therapy vectors and identification of new therapeutic genes for PC are essential prerequisites for successful application in humans. Present developments of alternative approaches show that future treatments will be very patient specific.
Fiedler
U
U
Klinik und Poliklinik für Urologie, Universitätsklinikum, Technische Universität Dresden, Fetscherstrasse 74, 01307 Dresden.
Wirth
M P
MP
D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D015316:Genetic Therapy; D006801:Humans; D007116:Immunization, Passive; D016233:Immunotherapy, Active; D008297:Male; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*