GENE THERAPY FOR THE TREATMENT OF PITUITARY TUMORS.

Pituitary adenomas constitute the most frequent neuroendocrine pathology in humans. Current therapies include surgery, radiotherapy and pharmacological approaches. Although useful, none of them offers a permanent cure. Current research efforts to implement gene therapy in pituitary tumors include the treatment of experimental adenomas with adenoviral vector-mediated transfer of the suicide gene for thymidine kinase, which converts the prodrug ganciclovir into a toxic metabolite. In some cases, the suicide transgene has been placed under the control of pituitary cell-type specific promoters. Also, regulatable adenoviral vector systems are being assessed in gene therapy approaches for experimental pituitary tumors. Although the efficiency and safety of current viral vectors must be optimized before clinical use, they remain as highly promising therapeutic tools.