Cancer researchers in China who have been experimenting with bacteria may have cracked the deadliest puzzle hindering treatment of the disease: how to eliminate cancers while evading human immune responses.
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A landmark study published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Cell on March 4 revealed how lab-engineered “bacterial assassins” selectively destroyed tumours in mice – slashing colorectal, melanoma and bladder cancer volumes by 80 per cent with a 100 per cent survival rate, and even vaccinating the survivors against future tumour assaults.
A synthetic biological “kill switch” can bridge a major gap in immunotherapy: unleashing the lethal precision of bacteria against malignancies while taming their dangers, the study suggested.
According to researchers, most human tumours already carry a molecular “key” for this kind of therapy, but the findings by Liu’s team illuminated a fast-track path to turning bacterial armies into universal cancer cures.
“Unlike traditional medicines, bacteria are alive. Bacteria can survive in tumours, suggesting they can evade the immune system,” lead author Liu Chenli, a professor from the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said in an article published by China Science Daily on March 4.
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“At the same time, the bacteria can inhibit tumour growth, indicating that they can activate anti-tumour immune responses.”
To prove their claim, the researchers engineered a strain of bacteria called Salmonella typhimurium, dubbed “Designer Bacterium 1” (DB1).