Vol. 2, Issue 1, Part A (2020)

Cancer is a disorder that results from genetic or epigenetic alterations in the somatic cells and has abnormal cell growth which may be spread to other body parts. There are various types of cancer treatments, which depend upon the cancer type and how to advance it is. Several decades after ago, interest re-emerged in the use of bacteria to treat cancer. Experiments showed that pathogenic species of the anaerobic bacteria such as clostridia were able to proliferate preferentially within the necrotic (anaerobic) regions of tumours in animals compared to normal tissues. Research in this field is growing and new strains of bacteria are being investigated as anticancer agents: Mycobacterium bovis, Streptococcus pyogenes, Salmonella choleraesuis, Vibrio cholerae, Listeria monocytogenes and even Escherichia coli have all been shown to replicate within tumours. This paper was aimed to review the use of microorganisms in anticancer therapy. It presents microorganisms that have already been commonly used and those going through phase II and phase III clinical trials.