The review article describes the criteria established for methodology of antisense anti IGF-I therapy of malignant tumors, particularly of glioblastoma. The cancer patients, after classical therapy of surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, have undergone the injection of genetically modified autologous malignant cells-transfected by IGF-I antisense/triple helix expression vectors. For all cancer patients supervised for up to 19 months, the period corresponding to minimum survival of glioblastoma patients, the following common immune criteria for "anti IGF-I" strategy were admitted: 1) characteristics of cell "vaccines"-absence of IGF-I and expression of MHC-I in cloned transfected cells; 2) the peripheral blood lymphocytes, PBL cells, removed after every of two successive vaccinations, demonstrate an increasing level of CD8 + and CD8 + 28 + molecules (with a switch from CD8 + 11b + to CD8 + 11b −).

Abstract:As we have come to know, there is a connection between cancer biomarkers and genes, along with their susceptibility to a particular disease, all of which have an obvious impact on the clinical practice and development of genetic testing. In any cancer disease, the diagnosis and treatment should be related to the investigation of specific biomarkers (generally antigens and proteins) and their corresponding genes. The study of different antigens such as alpha-fetoprotein, insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), insulin-like growth factor II, vascular endothelial growth factor, and epidermal growth factor, as well as their presence in neoplastic cells have demonstrated that IGF-I is an essential target for gene testing and therapeutic purpose. An over-expression of the IGF-I gene in mature tissues is a sign of neoplastic processes, e.g. brain or breast malignancy. A lot of questions have arisen regarding the ethics of gene testing, particularly concerns on the selection of patients for specific growth hormone/insulin-like growth factor I (GHIIGF-I) testing. Evidently, our current society is involved in a process of geneticization -the redefinition of individuals in terms of genetic codes. As such, we should take extreme care when making ethical judgments based on "scientific evidence" derived from genetic testing (typically those involving different biomarkers such as DNA, RNA, chromosomes, and proteins) in relation to genetic abnormalities that could predict current or future diseases. In this situation, the understanding of bioethics is of utmost importance.

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