Discuss the risks of gene therapy including safety, conflict of interest and ethical arguments.

definition:

insertion of genes / replacement of defective genes using a vector into non-germ line cells;

safety:

the DNA/viral vector may integrate into other parts of the genome;

causing problems of gene expression;

possibly cancer;

example of SCID treatment/leukemia;

the vector may trigger an immune response;

viral vectors may recombine with other viruses;

inadvertent modification of germ line cells;

conflict of interest:

the producers of gene vectors gain financially;

clinical trials must be free of bias from commercial sponsors;

ethics:

the vectors are tested on animals and may behave differently in humans;

unethical to use healthy humans in trials;

no gene therapy has been commercialized / no valuable results as yet;

Award [4 max] if responses do not address safety, conflict of interest and ethics.

This part of the programme had often not been studied in detail. The candidates were not answering the question asked; especially in the area of safety which was largely not known. The only suggested answer was that gene therapy may lead to cancer. Conflicts of interest were not known and ethical arguments were very general. Indeed ethical arguments was the only area often covered but with lack of depth of expression. Many answers gave religious arguments concerning gene therapy but these were not answering the question asked about the risks of gene therapy.