New Approach To Gene Therapy May Shrink Brain Tumors, Prevent Their Spread, Massachusetts General Hospital Neuroscience Center Study

ScienceDaily (Sep. 25, 2008) — Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers are investigating a new approach to gene therapy for brain tumors – delivering a cancer-fighting gene to normal brain tissue around the tumor to keep it from spreading. An animal study published in the journal Molecular Therapy, the first to test the feasibility of such an approach, found that inducing mouse brain cells to secrete human interferon-beta suppressed and eliminated growth of human glioblastoma cells implanted nearby.