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Updated: Aug 24, 2025

Bioluminescent Bacterial Imaging In Vivo
Published on: November 4, 2012
Bacteria-mediated cancer therapy: A versatile bio-sapper with translational potential
Miao Luo1, Xiaoyu Chen1, Haojin Gao1
1School of Pharmacy, Institute of Hepatology and Metabolic Diseases, Department of Hepatology, the Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China.
Abstract:
Bacteria are important symbionts for humans, which sustain substantial influences on our health. Interestingly, some bastrains have been identified to have therapeutic applications, notably for antitumor activity. Thereby, oncologists have developed various therapeutic models and investigated the potential antitumor mechanisms for bacteria-mediated cancer therapy (BCT). Even though BCT has a long history and exhibits remarkable therapeutic efficacy in pre-clinical animal models, its clinical translation still lags and requires further breakthroughs. This review aims to focus on the established strains of therapeutic bacteria and their antitumor mechanisms, including the stimulation of host immune responses, direct cytotoxicity, the interference on cellular signal transduction, extracellular matrix remodeling, neoangiogenesis, and metabolism, as well as vehicles for drug delivery and gene therapy. Moreover, a brief discussion is proposed regarding the important future directions for this fantastic research field of BCT at the end of this review.
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