The Advantages and Disadvantages of Gene Therapy Gene therapy is a very controversial topic that has been discussed over the past five years and is making the subject of numerous studies to help cure cancer. Gene therapy is a technique aimed at treating genetic disorders by introducing the correct form of the defective gene into the patient's genome (Dunlop et al., 2010). There are two main groups of gene therapy: germline gene therapy and somatic gene therapy. therapy (Baksh, 2007). Germ line therapy involves modifying germ cells through the introduction of functional genes, which are usually integrated into their genome (Garbutt et al., 2011). The DNA codes for the therapeutic gene and replaces the mutated gene so that the new gene can treat the disease. Germline therapy is very similar to somatic gene therapy, except that it treats somatic cells instead of sperm or eggs. Some of the advantages of gene therapy are that it is the only way to cure genetic diseases and therefore is our only hope for a cure. find cures for such disorders. Once gene therapy treatment becomes safer and more effective, it could completely eliminate genetic diseases such as cystic fibrosis, Parkinson's disease and cancer. Indeed, gene therapy targets the reproductive cells of carriers of such genetic diseases, so it is possible that, for all child carriers, gene therapy will free them from the defective gene (Ali et al., 1994). Some of the disadvantages of gene therapy are that it is still a relatively new discovery and we have not yet completely understood how to use it safely on humans without harming them. In the current state of knowledge, there is no guarantee that the vector carrying the healthy gene will end up in the precise place for which it is intended, so there is a risk of causing even more damage..... . middle of paper ...... In the near future, when gene therapy is perfected, it will cure these 500 people who die every year and completely eliminate cystic fibrosis. Gene therapy is a very interesting new approach to the treatment of genetic diseases. When gene therapy is perfected, it will reach the medical field and revolutionize the way we treat cancer. Instead of dozens of chemotherapy treatments that could damage and destroy healthy cells, gene therapy will be used to completely eliminate genetic disorders and increase life expectancy (Meistrich, 1993). As scientists do more research into gene therapy treatment and find a way to perfect it, the possibilities are endless. The world we live in, filled with incurable diseases and genetic disorders, is going to be completely eradicated. No one will die from cancer and people will live much happier lives. Shivam Sardana