The role of bacterial toxins and spores in cancer therapy

Cancer is one of the leading causes of human death worldwide. Conventional anticancer therapies are ineffective in treating cancer patients due to various reasons. Thus, more effective and accessible alternative anticancer strategies have been evolved with time with high specificity towards tumor cells and with less or no adverse effects to normal cells. One such promising therapy is the use of bacterial toxins and spores to treat advanced solid tumors. Initially, Coley paved the way towards the bacterial anticancer therapy several decades ago and now it has emerged as a potential tool to eliminate tumor cells. Bacterial spores of obligate anaerobes exclusively germinate in the hypoxic/necrotic areas and not in the well-oxygenated areas of the body. This unique phenomenon has been exploited in using bacterial spores as a remedy for cancer. Bacterial toxins also play a significant role in either directly killing tumor cells or altering the cellular processes of the tumor cells which ultimately leads to the inhibition and regression of the solid tumor. With the advancement of molecular techniques, a number of genetically-modified non-pathogenic bacteria have been developed to use in bacterial anticancer strategies. Although promising results have shown so far, further investigations are required to ensure the efficacy and the safety of the bacterial spores and toxins in treating cancer.