Gene therapy: Have the risks associated with viral vectors been solved?

Abstract

Gene therapy has the potential to cure monogenic diseases through the replacement of the deleterious gene with a functional copy. While the field of gene therapy has been plagued by serious adverse events associated with therapy, it is hoped that new, safer viral vectors have reduced these risks greatly. However, recently published reports indicate that these new viral vectors are a potential risk to patients receiving gene therapy. Thus, caution is required when recruiting patients for clinical trials of gene therapies to ensure the benefit of the therapy outweighs the risks.