Could ‘friendly’ bacteria help fight pancreatic cancer?
Researchers are testing an innovative method to treat pancreatic cancer by using engineered probiotic bacteria to deliver immune-stimulating molecules directly into tumors. The bacteria, which thrive in low-oxygen environments, act as microscopic drug factories to help the immune system attack cancer cells.
Why it matters
Pancreatic cancer is notoriously difficult to treat; this targeted approach could significantly improve patient outcomes and reduce systemic side effects.
Pancreatic cancer remains one of the hardest cancers to treat, prompting researchers to explore new ways of targeting tumours more precisely. (Envato Elements pic)
PETALING JAYA: Pancreatic cancer is notoriously difficult to treat, partly because its tumours are very good at keeping the immune system at bay.
US researchers are testing an unusual way around that problem: turning probiotic bacteria into microscopic "drug factories" that can travel into tumours and release treatment from within.
The study, published in Science Advances, used an engineered form of "Bifidobacterium longum", a bacterium commonly found in the gut and often associated with probiotics.
Scientists modified the bacteria so they could carry and release a version of an immune-stimulating molecule called interleukin-2, or IL-2, directly inside pancreatic tumours.
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