Viral vector-based cancer treatment and current clinical applications

Abstract

Owing to the limitations of conventional cancer therapies, including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery, gene therapy has become a prominent strategy for cancer treatment over the past few decades. Gene therapy is a medical approach for targeting and destroying cancer cells by delivering exogenous genes into the target cancerous cells or surrounding tissues. However, successful delivery of foreign genes into target cells and tissues remains a key issue in such therapy. Efficient gene delivery systems would undoubtedly be important for improving the medical outcomes of gene therapy. With genetic modifications, viral vectors can target specific cells with high gene transduction efficiency, thus, the use of viral vectors is a promising technology for improving foreign gene delivery. Currently, four viral vectors—adenovirus, adeno-associated virus, herpes simplex virus, and retrovirus—are dominantly being investigated and used in preclinical and clinical trials. In this review, we provide an overview of the mechanisms and latest applications of the four above-mentioned viral vectors, and summarize the current development of several other viral vectors. In addition, we discuss the challenges and provide insights into future development of viral vectors in cancer treatment.