The Attitude of Oncology Physicians and Nurses to the Acceptance of New Drugs for Gene Therapy

Abstract

With the efficacy of gene therapy verified in phase III trials, cancer patients will consider whether to accept gene therapy sooner or later. The purpose of this study is to investigate the attitudes of oncology physicians and nurses regarding effective gene therapy. A questionnaire was administered to 368 oncology physicians and nurses. A total of 328 valid questionnaires were returned (response rate, 89.1%). Gene therapy was considered as very safe or safe by 256 (78.0%) participants. Regardless of the stage of cancer, participants who advised patients to enroll in clinical trials and considered gene therapy as safe tended to accept the effective gene therapy. Gene therapy is considered to be a safe treatment. Most participants are willing to accept effective and verified gene therapy on the assumption that they themselves suffer from cancers.

Public Acceptability of Gene Therapy and Gene Editing for Human Use: A Systematic Review

“…39,40,42,47,51,[53][54][55]62,63 The impact of career was mixed, with four studies finding that science-oriented careers were a significant predictor of greater levels of acceptance of gene therapy, 29,31,35,62 while six studies found little to no relationship. 33,43,48,52,53,66 In a recent study, Ganne et al also reported no difference in the acceptance of genetic research among eye care professionals, optometry students, and the general public, reporting an average 70% approval rate across all three samples. 52 Self-reported and tested knowledge of genetics was found to positively impact the acceptance of gene therapy.…”

“…62 Participants in the studies were from a range of sources, including participants involved in gene therapy trials, 32 international samples, 30,47,55,57 national samples, 18,39,40,42,43,60,[62][63][64][65]67 people recruited from the general public, 34,35,38,51,52,59,63 students, 33,38,45,49,52,53,56 conference or public scientific engagement event attendees, 35,58,59,66 teachers, 54 patients, [36][37][38]41,44,46,61 parents of children with a disease, 19,38 and health practitioners. 36,46,48,52 Five of the studies utilized online...…”

“…Twenty-four studies examined the impact of knowledge of gene therapy on levels of acceptance. Ten studies compared clinician/scientist/biology or medical student perceptions with those of the general public, 29,31,33,35,43,48,52,53,62,66 8 measured differences in self-reported or tested genetic knowledge, 18,39,49,54,60,64,65,67 and a further 10 examined differences in self-reported education levels. 39,40,42,47,51,[53][54][55]62,63 The impact of career was mixed, with four studies finding that science-oriented careers were a significant predictor of greater levels of acceptance of gene therapy, 29,31,35,62 while six studies found little to no relationship.…”

“…34 Although Napolitano and Ogunseitan did note gender-based differences for somatic and germ line therapies, they did not detect an association of gender with acceptability toward specific applications. 34 The study by Liu et al determined that gender did not impact acceptability within their cohort of oncology physicians and nurses, 48 and a further two publications mirrored the sentiment that gender had no significant impact upon gene editing. 30,66 Only a single study found women to be significantly more accepting of gene therapy compared with men.…”

Gene Therapy for Peripheral Arterial Disease and Nursing Implications: Clinical Experience on the use of Sendai Viral Vector

“…The safety of gene therapy is an important issue that participants and medical staff must consider [38]. One of the major concerns in gene therapy is the possibility of infectious transmission of recombinant genes with viral vectors [39].…”