Chang Xueke, Liu Xiaolin, Wang Xiumei, Ma Lin, Liang Jing, Li Yan
Department of Oncology, Shandong Provincial Qianfoshan Hospital, Shandong Lung Cancer Institute, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, China.
The Affiliated Huaian No.1 People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Jiangsu, China.
Front Microbiol. 2025 Jul 28;16:1545334. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1545334. eCollection 2025.
Worldwide cancer mortality rates underscore the pressing need to identify and develop novel anticancer therapies to supplement traditional cancer treatments. Naturally occurring bacteria are ideal for cancer therapy owing to their autonomous propulsion and hypoxia-targeting properties, but their poor tumour targeting ability and weak tumour penetration limit their use. Bacteria can be modified by bioengineering and nanotechnology methods to improve their physiological activity and therapeutic effect. Furthermore, engineering allows for refined spatiotemporal control, precise functional recombination, and direct genetic reprogramming. These engineered bacteria can produce synergistic anticancer effects upon coadministration with anticancer drug-containing nanomaterials or other therapeutic payloads. In this paper, the use of engineered bacteria combined with other antitumour therapies, such as radiotherapy (RT), chemotherapy, immunotherapy, light therapy and life technology, is reviewed to aid in improving antitumour therapy efficacy. In addition, we provide an overview of the current state of spatiotemporally regulated bacterial gene expression and drug release, discuss the drawbacks and difficulties of employing engineered bacteria for tumour therapy, and explore potential research avenues on the basis of current advancements.
全球癌症死亡率凸显了识别和开发新型抗癌疗法以补充传统癌症治疗方法的迫切需求。天然存在的细菌因其自主推进和靶向缺氧的特性而成为癌症治疗的理想选择，但其较差的肿瘤靶向能力和较弱的肿瘤穿透性限制了它们的应用。可以通过生物工程和纳米技术方法对细菌进行改造，以提高其生理活性和治疗效果。此外，工程技术还能实现精确的时空控制、精确的功能重组和直接的基因重编程。这些工程菌与含抗癌药物的纳米材料或其他治疗载荷共同给药时，可产生协同抗癌效果。本文综述了工程菌与其他抗肿瘤疗法（如放射疗法（RT）、化疗、免疫疗法、光疗法和生命技术）联合使用的情况，以帮助提高抗肿瘤治疗效果。此外，我们概述了时空调控细菌基因表达和药物释放的现状，讨论了使用工程菌进行肿瘤治疗的缺点和困难，并根据当前的进展探索潜在的研究途径。
