A clinical trial in mice using a bacteria, study shows that it could be a potential cancer cure. Scientist injected mice with lab-made salmonella causing bacteria. The bacteria later on penetrate the tumors. The Salmonella was injected to deliver protein named flagellin B, or FlaB.
This protein is found in a deadly flesh-eating pathogen. It is commonly ingested by people who eat raw oysters. The researchers chose this because it will trigger the immune system. The response of the immune system diminishes the tumor up to the point that they were no longer perceptible in 11 out of 20 mice. It even prevented the cancer from spreading.
The bacteria also did not harm healthy tissues. Researchers believe that their bacterial strain is remarkably safe to use therapeutically. The bacteria strain must undergo more laboratory test with other animals such as dogs and primates. Before it can be clinically tried on human. Researchers believe that the result of this study is promising and has a strong chance of becoming a potential cancer cure.
Since in the 1800’s, the idea of using bacteria as cancer cure has been around. During those times, an American bone surgeon and cancer researcher named William Coley observed something odd. A number of patients after tumor-removal surgeries that developed infections were more likely to recover. So it came to his idea to start injecting patients Streptococcus bacteria and other bacteria product, that resulted in the tumors to shrink.
According to the Ars Technica, researchers of the potential cancer cure today repeated the procedure on mice, implanted human colon cancer on them. After 27 days, mice that were not given the treatment had 91 tumors. While those animals that were given the treatment had four relatively small tumors theothers had none.
The so-called Coley’s Toxins were injected into more than 1,000 cancer patients. However, because of the criticism of his method and the introduction of the radiation therapy and chemotherapy. According to The Verge, this has caused William Coley’s potential cancer cure has vanished from the research labs. Eventually this type of bacterial therapy, might be used in collaboration with other types of anticancer immunotherapy. Those that are intended to boost the immune system against tumors.
