THE discovery by scientists in Scotland of a rogue gene implicated in tumours has resulted in a gene therapy treatment for a common form of lung cancer.
Doctors at a cancer centre at Texas University claimed success in clinical trials for a drug based on the p53 gene identified by Professor David Lane at Dundee University. The p53 gene acts as a tumour suppressor by halting the proliferation of cells or bringing about ''cell suicide'' where the DNA of the cells has been damaged. Mutations in p53, rendering it ineffective, are thought to be involved in 50% of all cancers.
The American doctors used a preparation called INGN 201, which uses an adenovirus as a carrier, to administer p53 to patients with non small-cell lung cancer, accounting for 75% of lung cancers and with a five-year survival rate of 13%.
They delivered the drug once a month to the tumour sites of 52 patients for six months; half also received a standard drug, cisplatin. Seven had 50% shrinkage of their tumour; 33 had the disease stabilised.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article