Engineered Bacteria Can Consume Tumors From the Inside Out

Engineered bacteria can consume tumors from the inside out

A research team led by the University of Waterloo is developing a novel tool to treat cancer by engineering hungry bacteria to literally eat tumors from the inside out. "Bacteria spores enter the tumor, finding an environment where there are lots of nutrients and no oxygen, which this organism prefers, and so it starts eating those nutrients and growing in size," said Dr. Marc Aucoin, a chemical engineering professor at Waterloo. "So, we are now…

Beating cancer by eating cancer

A research team led by the University of Waterloo is developing a novel tool to treat cancer by engineering hungry bacteria to literally eat tumours from the inside out. Bacteria spores enter the tumour, finding an environment where there are lots of nutrients and no oxygen, which this organism prefers, and so it starts eating those nutrients and growing in size.

Scientists engineer bacteria to eat cancer tumors from the inside out

Researchers are engineering bacteria to invade tumors and consume them from the inside. Because tumor cores lack oxygen, they’re the perfect breeding ground for these microbes. The team added a genetic tweak that helps the bacteria survive longer near oxygen-exposed edges — but only once enough of them are present to trigger the change. It’s a carefully programmed biological attack that could one day offer a new way to destroy cancer.

Modified Clostridium sporogenes shows promise in targeting solid tumors

A research team led by the University of Waterloo is developing a novel tool to treat cancer by engineering hungry bacteria to literally eat tumors from the inside out.

How do engineered bacteria eat tumors?

A new route to attacking solid cancers from within Researchers have engineered bacteria that appear able to colonize solid tumors and consume them from the inside out, offering a different approach to traditional cancer treatments. In laboratory models, these microbes preferentially grow in the…