Methods for cancer gene therapy using tumor suppressor genes.
Under experimental conditions, fusion of normal and malignant cells in many different combinations most often results in the suppression of the tumorigenic phenotype of tumor cells (1). This phenomenon led to a hypothesis that the normal genome might contain "recessive cancer genes" that, when expressed, would suppress the growth of tumors (2). Since the rdentification and cloning of the retinoblastoma (Rb) and p53 genes, the study of what are now called tumor suppressor genes has progressed rapidly. Although tumors generally develop through multiple changes in several genes, the malignant phenotype can be reversed by the introduction of a single chromosome derived from a normal cell, suggesting that single suppressor genes may be able to overcome the effects of multiple changes related to tumor progression (3).
Section of Thoracic Molecular Oncology, Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, University of Texas M. D. Anderson Science Center, Houston, TX.
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