Bugs as Cancer Drugs: Challenges and Opportunities

The first nonsurgical cancer therapy was bacterial therapy introduced in 1891 to treat solid tumors. Because in many cases it was harmful and ineffective, and with the emergence of radiotherapy and chemotherapy, bacterial therapy was discontinued. ABSTRACT The first nonsurgical cancer therapy was bacterial therapy introduced in 1891 to treat solid tumors. Because in many cases it was harmful and ineffective, and with the emergence of radiotherapy and chemotherapy, bacterial therapy was discontinued. Motivated by the need to improve targeting of solid tumors and in light of recent progress made in developing microbial therapies, the National Cancer Institute has for the first time issued funding opportunities to stimulate research on bacterium-based cancer therapies for conditions under which current cancer therapies are inadequate.

[1]  Microbial‐based Cancer Therapy—Bugs as Drugs (NCI) , 2019, Federal Grants & Contracts.

[2]  A. M. Merlot,et al.  Clinical development of targeted and immune based anti-cancer therapies , 2019, Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research.

[3]  Ke Liu,et al.  Tumour-targeting bacteria engineered to fight cancer , 2018, Nature Reviews Cancer.

[4]  Shibin Zhou,et al.  White paper on microbial anti-cancer therapy and prevention , 2018, Journal of Immunotherapy for Cancer.

[5]  Shiyu Song,et al.  The role of bacteria in cancer therapy – enemies in the past, but allies at present , 2018, Infectious Agents and Cancer.

[6]  A. Rasooly,et al.  Report on the NCI Microbial-Based Cancer Therapy Conference , 2018, Cancer Immunology Research.

[7]  C. Sheridan First approval in sight for Novartis' CAR-T therapy after panel vote , 2017, Nature Biotechnology.

[8]  S. Weiss,et al.  Tumour‐targeting bacteria‐based cancer therapies for increased specificity and improved outcome , 2017, Microbial biotechnology.

[9]  Jung-Joon Min,et al.  Two-step enhanced cancer immunotherapy with engineered Salmonella typhimurium secreting heterologous flagellin , 2017, Science Translational Medicine.

[10]  Jin Hai Zheng,et al.  Targeted Cancer Therapy Using Engineered Salmonella typhimurium , 2016, Chonnam medical journal.

[11]  M. Bouvet,et al.  Tumor-specific cell-cycle decoy by Salmonella typhimurium A1-R combined with tumor-selective cell-cycle trap by methioninase overcome tumor intrinsic chemoresistance as visualized by FUCCI imaging , 2016, Cell cycle.

[12]  S. Weiss,et al.  Bacteria in Cancer Therapy: Renaissance of an Old Concept , 2016, International journal of microbiology.

[13]  Shibin Zhou,et al.  Clostridium novyi-NT in cancer therapy , 2016, Genes & diseases.

[14]  L. Galluzzi,et al.  First oncolytic virus approved for melanoma immunotherapy , 2016, Oncoimmunology.

[15]  F. Ginhoux,et al.  Anticancer immunotherapy by CTLA-4 blockade relies on the gut microbiota , 2015, Science.

[16]  Jason B. Williams,et al.  Commensal Bifidobacterium promotes antitumor immunity and facilitates anti–PD-L1 efficacy , 2015, Science.

[17]  L. Galluzzi,et al.  Novel immune checkpoint blocker approved for the treatment of advanced melanoma , 2014, Oncoimmunology.

[18]  Robert S. Benjamin,et al.  Intratumoral injection of Clostridium novyi-NT spores induces antitumor responses , 2014, Science Translational Medicine.

[19]  L. Wood,et al.  Attenuated Listeria monocytogenes: a powerful and versatile vector for the future of tumor immunotherapy , 2014, Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol..

[20]  M. Glickman,et al.  The mechanism of action of BCG therapy for bladder cancer—a current perspective , 2014, Nature Reviews Urology.

[21]  K. Yuen,et al.  Explicit hypoxia targeting with tumor suppression by creating an “obligate” anaerobic Salmonella Typhimurium strain , 2012, Scientific Reports.

[22]  W. Coley,et al.  Contribution To The Knowledge Of Sarcoma , 1891 .