Genetic therapy could hold the key to future treatment of cancer, eminent neuro-surgeon, Prof Ashok Mohapatra said on September 18.

Gene therapy can be an alternative to surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, now being followed to kill cancer cells, Prof. Mohapatra, presently Director (Health Programmes) at the SOA (Deemed to be University), said. In the 1970’s, organ transplantations, including heart and kidney were considered difficult but now have become routine today.

Now gene therapy is the evolving method for treatment, he said. Prof. Mohapatra was speaking at a ‘Continuing Education Programme’ organized by the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences (SPS), faculty of pharmacy at SOA, and sponsored by the Pharmacy Council of India. He said the possibilities gene replacement and gene transplantation could be used to kill the diseased cells.