Some Aim to Fix the Genes Themselves.

[The following article appeared in The Wall Street Journal, issue of May 6, 1998.] Ever since scientists learned over a decade ago that cancer is the result of defective genes, they have dreamed of shutting down tumor growth simply by replacing the bad genes with good ones. Researchers at two biotech companies and a pharmaceutical giant believe they are close to making that dream come true, at least for some patients. In two weeks, scientists will present results of several studies showing, for the first time, that cancer growth in severely sick patients can be stalled through an innovative method of repairing damaged genes. If the initial studies of this "cancer gene therapy" in about a hundred patients hold up, one of the companies, closely held Introgen Therapeutics Inc. of Austin, Texas, believes its technique may be available to doctors in two years.