UK approves gene therapy trial for glioma:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
The UK's Gene Therapy Advisory Committee (GTAC) has approved the launch of a large-scale clinical trial of a new treatment for glioma. Glioma is one of the most aggressive types of brain tumours and for which there is currently no cure. The technique being studied by Glasgow University's neurovirology department, led by Professor Moira Brown, involves injecting a Herpes simplex virus - modified to target cancerous cells but leave normal cells undamaged - into the tumour. GTAC has approved 90 gene therapy clinical trials involving over 700 patients, since 1993. 72% of these are for cancer.