Strategies for cancer gene therapy.

Gene therapy offers new opportunities for cancer treatment and prevention through the use of targeted, relatively nontoxic treatments that can identify, disable, and destroy malignant cells. This article reviews the principles behind oncogene inactivation, tumor suppressor gene replacement, inhibition of angiogenesis, immunopotentiation, molecular chemotherapy, and addition of drug resistance genes. The adcantages and limitations of viral and nonviral vectors for delivery of the therapeutic genes are presented.

HPC2/ELAC2 gene variants associated with incident prostate cancer.

The HPC2/ELAC2 gene on chromosome 17p11 was identified as a candidate gene for hereditary prostate cancer (HPC) susceptibility. Two HPC2 gene missense variants, Ser217Leu (Leu217) and Ala541Thr (Thr541) have been associated with incident prostate cancer cases in some studies, but not in others. We tested for possible associations between the two HPC2 gene variants and prostate cancer risk in incident prostate cancer cases (199) and healthy male controls (525) from the Calgary region.