Facultative or obligate anaerobic bacteria have the potential for multimodality therapy of solid tumours

Abstract

Recent understanding of the unique pathology of solid tumours has shed light on the difficult and disappointing nature of their clinical treatment. All solid tumours undergo angiogenesis that results in biological changes and adaptive metabolisms, i.e. formation of defective vessels, appearance of hypoxic areas, and emergence of an heterogeneous tumour cell population. This micro-milieu provides a haven for anaerobic bacteria. The strictly anaerobic clostridia have several advantages over other facultative anaerobes such as salmonella or lactic acid-producing, Gram-positive, obligate, anaerobic bifidobacteria. Both pathogenic and non-pathogenic clostridia have been demonstrated to specifically colonise and destroy solid tumours. Early trials of non-pathogenic strains in humans had shown plausible safety. Genetic modifications and adaptation of pathogenic and non-pathogenic strains have further created improved features. However, these manipulations rarely generate strains that resulted in complete tumour control alone. Combined modalities of therapies with chemo and radiation therapies, on the other hand, often perform better, including 'cure' of solid tumours in a high percentage of animals. Considering that clostridia have unlimited capacities for genetic improvement, we predict that designer clostridia forecast a promising future for the development of potent strains for tumour destruction, incorporating mechanisms such as immunotherapy to overcome immune suppression and to elicit strong anti-tumour responses.