Anti-sense and gene therapy approaches to the treatment of lymphomas

The availability of molecular genetic technology has opened up a large range of potential strategies for the treatment of lymphoma. In the immediate future it is likely that these techniques will be of most use in the evaluation of procedures such as purging, ex vivo expansion of haemopoietic progenitors and adoptive immunotherapy. On the horizon however are strategies such as anti-sense, immune gene therapy and stem cell protection which may prove valuable adjuncts to our existing therapeutic armoury. The pace of developments in this field is such that long-term predictions are unlikely to be accurate but it seems certain that this whole area will continue to grow rapidly.