By Penny Stern, MD

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Gene therapy has taken another step forward with the announcement that a ``fusion gene''--called p27/p16--appears to be able to kill many cancer cell lines.

The finding ``represents a powerful new therapeutic agent for cancer gene therapy,'' Dr. James G. McArthur of Cell Genesys, Inc. in Foster City, California, and colleagues there and at GPC Biotech, Inc. in Cambridge, Massachusetts, write in the August issue of Molecular Therapy.

The p27/p16 gene was created by fusing two separate genes involved in the life cycle of cells. Fused together, scientists believe that the genes could help to control tumor growth by blocking tumor cell division and triggering tumor cell death.

``What is very exciting about these preclinical findings is that the p27/p16 fusion gene therapeutic induces cancer cell death in a broad spectrum of tumor types, including prostate, pancreatic, lung, ovarian, breast and colon cancers,'' McArthur told Reuters Health. He also noted that no toxic effects were observed in normal cells exposed to the therapy.

According to McArthur, these findings are ``being extended to the screening of more potent anti-cancer agents. When we have this data, we plan to make a decision on the appropriate clinical target and will proceed toward human clinical trials.''

He emphasized, however, that the research is still at a preclinical stage. ``We have more work to do to see this therapy impact human disease,'' he explained, adding that ``this...very productive collaboration...demonstrates the potential for combining the significant advances being made in human genomics research with the power of gene therapy.''

(From Yahoo)