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Abstract

An antiproliferative effect of IFN-α gene transduction in pancreatic cancer cells. The invention relates to expression of IFN-α to effectively induce growth suppression and cell death in pancreatic cancer cells, an effect which appeared to be more prominent when compared with other types of cancers and normal cells. Another aspect of the invention relates to targeting the characteristic genetic aberration, K-ras point mutation, in pancreatic cancer, and that the expression of antisense K-ras RNA significantly suppresses the growth of pancreatic cancer cells. When these two gene therapy strategies are combined, the expression of antisense K-ras RNA significantly enhanced IFN-α-induced cell death (1.3-3.5 fold), and suppressed subcutaneous growth of pancreatic cancer cells in mice. The invention also relates to a method of suppressing pancreatic cancer cells using double strand RNA formed by antisense and endogeneous K-ras RNA in combination with the anti-tumor activity of IFN-α. The invention relates to the combination of IFN-α and antisense K-ras RNA as an effective gene therapy strategy against pancreatic cancer. The invention also relates to a method of treating pancreatic cancer cells disseminated throughout the body by administering the inventive combination to localized pancreatic cancer cell tumor. The invention also relates to inducing indirect immunological antitumor activity to provide systemic immunity against pancreatic cancer cells.

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First Claim