title: RNAi-mediated gene silencing in cancer therapy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This review presents the intriguing success of RNA interference (RNAi)-mediated gene silencing and its advantages and obstacles in cancer therapy.
  
  
  METHODS
  RNAi has implications in metabolic disease, viral hepatitis, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, HIV, neurodegenerative disorders and cancer. RNAi can enhance the specificity and efficacy of therapeutic intervention for human diseases while at the same time reducing toxicity. The existing research related to gene therapy suggests encouraging prospects of a new high-efficiency and low-toxicity anti-tumor therapy. Although gene therapy is still in the experimental research phase, in the near future, this method will become an important means for the treatment of cancer therapies and it will be widely used in clinical practice.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  RNAi-based drug development is still in preclinical trial and several challenges limit the use of RNAi in the clinic. It is believed that further investigation of the mechanisms of RNAi-based therapies will help overcome these limitations and provide powerful weapons in the oncology clinic.
authors: Department of Pharmacology, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Soochow University, Jiangsu, China.
authors: Wei-Qiong
authors: WQ
authors: Yang
authors: Yi
authors: Y
authors: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D020868:Gene Silencing / Q000502:physiology; D015316:Genetic Therapy / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000628:therapy*; D034622:RNA Interference / Q000502:physiology