Eissa Maha M, El-Faham Marwa H, El Skhawy Nahla
Department of Medical Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt.
Infect Agent Cancer. 2025 Jul 29;20(1):53. doi: 10.1186/s13027-025-00679-7.
Cancer research is constantly evolving to yield successful innovations. A plethora of pre-clinical studies have illustrated the promising potential utility of parasites and parasite-derived molecules in cancer therapy. In this review, we underscore, for the first time, the possible multifaceted applications of parasites in the field of oncology, aiming to draw attention to the vital role of parasite-derived cancer therapy and offer novel insights for the evolution of advanced cancer therapeutics. Several studies have demonstrated that parasites offer a variety of strategies for cancer therapy. These include acting as immunotherapeutics such as cancer vaccines, therapeutic antibodies, adjuvants, immunomodulators, oncolytic agents, and NF-κB inhibitors. Additionally, they can be utilized in targeted therapy, gene therapy, and in combination with current cancer treatments to synergistically enhance their effectiveness. A notable strategy is parasites' ability to overcome tumor resistance to chemotherapy, a significant obstacle in cancer therapy. There is still much to explore about parasite-based anti-cancer therapies. With further research and the translation of parasitological discoveries into effective cancer interventions, parasites may hold the key to effectively treat cancer in the near future.
癌症研究在不断发展，以产生成功的创新成果。大量临床前研究表明，寄生虫及寄生虫衍生分子在癌症治疗中具有潜在的应用前景。在本综述中，我们首次强调了寄生虫在肿瘤学领域可能具有的多方面应用，旨在引起人们对寄生虫衍生的癌症治疗的重要作用的关注，并为先进癌症治疗方法的发展提供新的见解。多项研究表明，寄生虫为癌症治疗提供了多种策略。这些策略包括作为免疫治疗手段，如癌症疫苗、治疗性抗体、佐剂、免疫调节剂、溶瘤剂和核因子-κB抑制剂。此外，它们可用于靶向治疗、基因治疗，并与当前的癌症治疗方法联合使用，以协同增强其疗效。一个显著的策略是寄生虫克服肿瘤对化疗耐药性的能力，而化疗耐药性是癌症治疗中的一个重大障碍。基于寄生虫的抗癌疗法仍有许多有待探索之处。随着进一步的研究以及将寄生虫学发现转化为有效的癌症干预措施，寄生虫可能在不久的将来成为有效治疗癌症的关键。
