| abstract |
This invention provides a method of treating cancer by administering a replication competent adenoviral vector comprising a therapeutic gene and a disease specific gene regulatory region operationally linked to at least one replication gene. The replication competent targeted adenoviral vector preferentially replicates in the tumor cells following activation of the tumor specific gene regulatory region thereby amplifying the effect of the therapeutic gene carried by the replication competent adenoviral vector. This invention enables for the first time the targeting of a therapeutic gene for treating cancer using small amounts of viral vectors which selectively replicate to deliver therapeutic dosages of the therapeutic gene. |