Engineered bacteria are turned into cancer fighters
Immunotherapic agents are of many kinds: antibodies, vaccines, cytokines and even…bacteria. The immune system has more difficulty in recognizing cancer cells than any foreign invaders. A tumour is made of the host’s own cells, only more selfish, rebellious and disobedient. On the contrary, bacteria are completely different due to their peculiar cellular structures and metabolic functions: the body’s own defences are much more prepared to identify and attack them. Can we turn bacteria into cancer fighters that help the immune system to destroy cancer cells?