'Suicide' gene therapy kills prostate cancer

A new gene therapy technique is able to modify prostate cancer cells so that a patient's body attacks and kills them, US scientists have discovered.

The technique causes the tumour cells in the body to self-destruct, giving it the name 'suicide gene therapy'.
Their research found a 20% improvement in survival in patients with prostate cancer five years after treatment, BBC Health reports.

A cancer expert said more research was needed to judge its effectiveness.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK with more than 41,000 diagnosed each year.

The study, led by researchers from Houston Methodist Hospital in Texas, appears to show that this 'suicide gene therapy', when combined with radiotherapy, could be a promising treatment for prostate cancer in the future.

The technique involves the cancer cells being genetically modified so that they signal a patient's immune system to attack them.

Usually, the body does not recognise cancer cells as the enemy because they have evolved from normal healthy cells.

Unlike an infection, which the body reacts against, the immune system does not react to kill off the offending cancer cells.

Using a virus to carry the gene therapy into the tumour cells, the result is that the cells self-destruct, alerting the patient's immune system that it is time to launch a massive attack.