Interferon Gene Therapy Against Pancreatic Cancer

---

Although type I interferon (IFN) is a cytokine with pleiotropic biological functions, clinical experiences with IFN protein therapy for many solid cancers have generally not been encouraging. The overall limited therapeutic efficacy may reflect the inability to target the cytokine to the right place and at the right dose. Since an IFN-α gene transfer allows an increased and sustained local concentration of IFN-α in the target tumor sites, its use should enable an enhanced therapeutic effect and safety in the context of gene therapy. In several animal models, we have demonstrated that intratumoral IFN-α gene transfer induces strong local tumor control and systemic tumor-specific immunity against pancreatic cancer, due to multiple mechanisms of antitumor activities such as proapoptotic, anti-angiogneneic and immunomodulatory effects. The treated animals did not show any significant toxicity. A local IFN-α gene therapy is a promising therapeutic strategy for pancreatic cancer.