[Molecular urology: the present situation and prospects of gene therapy]

We discuss the current status and views of human gene therapy for urological cancer. The genetic causes of many hereditary diseases have been identified as a result of the remarkable advancement of genetic engineering, and the molecular mechanisms of these diseases have also been clarified. The concept is that it is possible to treat diseases at the genetic level by replacing abnormal genes or restoring lost genes when the causative abnormal genes involved have been identified at the deoxyribonucleic acid level. In this Symposium "Current status and views of human gene therapy", we invited contributions clinical physicians and researchers in the first line of gene therapy in the United States. In addition, young Japanese urologists researching basic gene therapy were invited to participate. Japanese urologists who often treat malignant tumors should aggressively pursue a treatment method in the new field of gene therapy for cancer in Japan. We are expecting the Symposium to yield significant findings.