A NEW WEAPON AGAINST PROSTATE CANCER.

Byline: Anne Burke Daily News Staff Writer

In 1992, after 36 radiation treatments, Thomas Doran got good news about his prostate cancer. ``You're cured,'' Doran recalled his doctor saying.

Unfortunately, the disease wasn't done with Doran yet. His prostate-specific antigen (PSA) count - a prostate cancer warning sign - shot up from 0.1 to 15. By 1995, the retired computer consultant was desperately seeking a new - and better - way to fight his disease.

Doran, 75, hopes he's found it at UCLA, where doctors are trying to make his cancer self-destruct using a new and experimental gene therapy.

``It's almost like a suicide mechanism. You program the cancer cells to make a new product that will eventually destroy the cancer,'' said Dr. Arie Belldegrun, the principal investigator for the gene-therapy study at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Physicians hope that the study, which tests the safety and efficacy of injecting the gene to fight prostate cancer, will lead to a cure for the disease, which is the most frequently diagnosed type of cancer and the second leading cause of cancer fatalities among men in the United States.

Last year in the United States, about 317,000 new cases of prostate cancer were diagnosed, and about 41,000 men died from the disease.

Doran, widowed last year, lives in suburban Baltimore, and is racking up frequent-flyer miles traveling to Los Angeles to participate in the trial.

As part of his treatment, doctors are injecting a synthetically created gene, manufactured by the San Diego biotechnology firm Vical, directly into his prostate gland.

The gene produces a hormone-like substance called interleukin-2 (IL-2). IL-2 stimulates the immune system to attract certain ``killer cells'' called lymphocytes, which alter and destroy cancer cells, according to Belldegrun, chief of genitourinary oncology at the UCLA School of Medicine.

After a while, the cancer cells will begin producing IL-2 on their own, the doctor said.

``We are trying to stimulate the patient's immune system to reject it's own cancer,'' Belldegrun said. The treatment has proved effective in mice, but until now had not been tried in humans, he added.

While other research institutions are testing gene therapy against prostate cancer, the trial at UCLA is the first and only to use IL-2 to fight the disease, Belldegrun said.

IL-2 also is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for treatment of kidney cancer.

Scientists say that gene therapy makes more sense than radiation because it takes direct aim at cancer cells while leaving normal cells intact. That means that there are minimal side effects, Belldegrun said.

The gene therapy would be a significant development for men whose prostate cancer has spread so far beyond the gland that it is impossible to remove through surgery.

``In those cases, there is no known cure for prostate cancer. However, by using IL-2 gene therapy, we hope to be able to stimulate the immune system to destroy or damage cancerous prostate cells that have escaped from the prostate gland, as well as those remaining in it,'' said Dr. Robert Figlin, co-investigator for the study.

Doran underwent the therapy last month. It was relatively quick and simple - two injections a week apart, each lasting about 15 minutes.

``There is some discomfort, but it's such a small price to pay for something that could be so rewarding,'' he said.

Now, he'll be flying back to Los Angeles for checkups once every two months.

``They'll be watching my PSA count,'' Doran said. ``Hopefully, it will come down and stay down.''

How to join the study

The prostate cancer gene-therapy study at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center needs 36 patients and is still accepting new participants. Patients are needed for two groups: those who intend to have surgery, and those for whom surgery is not an option because they have undergone radiation therapy.

Men interested in see ing if they are eligible for the study should call [phone].

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Photo, box

PHOTO Tom Doran, getting his blood pressure checked, underwent gene therapy for prostate cancer at UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center.

David Sprague/Daily News

Box: How to join the study (see text)