Anti-K-ras1 Ribozyme Adenoviral Vector for Gene Therapy of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for men and women in the United States. Several factors affect survival in nonsmall-cell lung cancer [NSCLC; i.e., stage, age, Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS)]. The 5-yr survival rate is<15% for newly diagnosed cases following conventional treatments. Tumor oncogenetic defects appear to be associated with adverse survival (1,2). The presence of a ras mutation or p21(ras) oncoprotein overexpression correlates with an unfavorable prognosis for patients with nonsmall-cell lung cancer (3). These findings suggest that abnormal ras function contributes to pathophysiology, and raise the possibility that reversal of aberrant ras activity may serve as a viable therapeutic approach.