Final answer:
Gene therapy in cancer aims to decrease abnormal cell growth, increase treatment selectivity, help correct genetic mutations, and kill cancer cells in a targeted and efficient manner.
Step-by-step explanation:
Gene therapy for cancer treatment is designed to address the limitations of traditional cancer treatments like surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. These conventional methods may not be able to precisely target only the cancer cells, sometimes leading to damage to healthy tissue. Gene therapy, on the other hand, aims to decrease the growth of abnormal cancer cells, increase the effectiveness of treatment with minimal effects on normal cells, help restore normal function if a gene is mutated, and kill or make the cancer cells more susceptible to destruction by the body's immune system or other treatments. This is achieved by adjusting the structure of DNA within the cells or using targeted therapies that exploit the presence of certain proteins or gene mutations characteristic of particular cancer cells.