Transrectal gene therapy of the prostate in the canine model.

Direct transrectal delivery of therapeutic genes utilizing adenoviral vectors for advanced prostate cancer may offer effective treatment at the molecular level. Large animal models to assess feasibility and the intraprostatic and systemic dissemination patterns of these vectors have not been reported. For these studies, a replication-deficient (E1(-)/E3(-)) recombinant adenovirus (AdRSVlacZ) expressing bacterial beta-galactosidase (beta-gal) was delivered under transrectal ultrasound guidance.