ABSTRACT
Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer death in the United States and is becoming a major cause in many other countries. While advances in chemotherapy and radiation therapy have resulted in remarkable progress in some tumors, only incremental progress has been achieved in lung cancer. The marginal improvements thus far achieved in lung cancer patient survival with standard treatment modalities suggests the need for totally new treatment modalities. Gene therapy is the treatment of cancer using genetic material as a therapeutic agent. Gene therapy can be broadly classified into two categories, according to the mechanism of action: immunity-inducing and direct-acting. During carcinogenesis, it is clear that multiple genetic and protein structural changes occur. Genetic therapies can be designed to address the regulatory issues involved in the failure of effective anticancer immunity. Carcinoembryonic antigen is an oncofetal protein expressed by many adenocarcinomas, including those of lung origin.
