Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran.
Research Center for Liver Diseases, Keck School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Cancer Gene Ther. 2022 Feb;29(2):141-155. doi: 10.1038/s41417-021-00308-6. Epub 2021 Mar 22.
The incidence rate of cancer is steadily increasing all around the world, and there is an urgent need to develop novel and more effective treatment strategies. Recently, bacterial therapy has been investigated as a new approach to target cancer, and is becoming a serious option. Streptococcus strains are among the most common and well-studied virulent bacteria that cause a variety of human infections. Everyone has experienced a sore throat during their lifetime, or has been asymptomatically colonized by streptococci. The ability of Streptococcus bacteria to fight cancer was discovered more than 100 years ago, and over the years has undergone clinical trials, but the mechanism is not yet completely understood. Recently, several animal models and human clinical trials have been reported. Streptococcal strains can have an intrinsic anti-tumor activity, or can activate the host immune system to fight the tumor. Bacteria can selectively accumulate and proliferate in the hypoxic regions of solid tumors. Moreover, the bacteria can be genetically engineered to secrete toxins or enzymes that can specifically attack the tumors.
癌症的发病率在全球范围内稳步上升，因此迫切需要开发新的、更有效的治疗策略。最近，细菌疗法已被研究作为一种针对癌症的新方法，并成为一种严肃的选择。链球菌是最常见和研究最多的引起各种人类感染的毒性细菌之一。每个人都在一生中经历过喉咙痛，或者无症状地被链球菌定植。链球菌能抗癌的能力早在 100 多年前就被发现了，多年来已经进行了临床试验，但机制尚不完全清楚。最近，有几项动物模型和人体临床试验的报道。链球菌株可以具有内在的抗肿瘤活性，或者可以激活宿主免疫系统来对抗肿瘤。细菌可以选择性地在实体瘤的缺氧区域积聚和增殖。此外，细菌可以被遗传工程改造，以分泌毒素或酶，专门攻击肿瘤。
