Can gene therapy be used to prevent cancer? Gene therapy for aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 deficiency

Approximately 8% of the world population and 35-45% of East Asians are carriers of the hereditary disorder aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) deficiency. ALDH2 plays a central role in the liver to metabolize ethanol. With the common E487K variant, there is a deficiency of ALDH2 function; when ethanol is consumed, there is a systemic accumulation of acetaldehyde, an intermediate product in ethanol metabolism. In ALDH2-deficient individuals, ethanol...