Gene therapy in oral cancer: a review.

Gene therapy is the use of DNA as an agent to treat disease. Gene therapy aims at the insertion of a functional gene into the cells of a patient for the correction of an inborn error of metabolism, to alter or repair an acquired genetic abnormality, and to provide new function to the cell. Many experiments have been done with respect to its application in various diseases.Today, most of the gene therapy studies are aimed at cancer and hereditary diseases which are linked to genetic defects. Cancer usually occurs due to the production of multiple mutations in a single cell which cause it to proliferate out of control. Several methods such as surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy have been used widely to treat cancers. But, the cancer patients who are not helped by these therapies can be treated by gene therapy. The purpose of this article is to review the use and purpose of gene therapy in oral cancer.