Gene Therapy

Overview and Indications

Gene therapy is a treatment that involves the introduction or alteration of genetic material to cure or treat a disease. Gene therapy may involve introduction of cells designed to replace the patient’s own immune system, activate a patient’s immune system or directly find and kill cancer cells. Gene-silencing therapy is a molecularly targeted therapy process by which the specialist blocks or “silences” a particular gene. With gene silencing therapy, USC physicians may render tumor cells more amenable to radiation. The “gene silencing” approach enables specialists to reduce the amount of radiation exposure.