Targeted Drug Delivery Systems Using Bacteria Show Promising Results in Cancer Therapy

Research from Beijing Institute of Technology reveals that bacteria can serve as a promising vehicle for targeted drug delivery systems in cancer therapy, leveraging their innate ability to target the tumour microenvironment and their intrinsic immune-stimulating properties. This review synthesizes recent advances in bacteria-mediated cancer therapy, exploring the mechanisms underlying bacterial targeting of hypoxic and immunosuppressive regions within the tumor microenvironment.

Key Takeaways:

• Bacteria have emerged as a promising vehicle for targeted drug delivery systems in cancer therapy, due to their innate ability to target the tumour microenvironment and their intrinsic immune-stimulating properties.
• Genetic modification has been employed to design recombinant bacterial strains with enhanced tumor specificity and amplified therapeutic effects, while integration with nanotechnology has facilitated the development of hybrid systems capable of targeted drug delivery and triggered-release mechanisms.
• The combination of bacterial therapy with other treatment modalities, such as photodynamic (PDT) and sonodynamic therapies (SDT), is also examined, emphasizing their synergistic potential in overcoming tumor heterogeneity and enhancing anti-tumor immunity.
• Artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to revolutionize bacterial cancer therapy, offering powerful tools for optimizing synthetic biology designs, nanocarrier engineering, and predicting bacterial-host interactions for more effective and safer treatments.
• Bacteria exhibit inherent tumour-targeting capabilities, particularly thriving in hypoxic tumour microenvironments (TMEs) and activating potent anti-tumour immune responses through pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) and immunomodulation.
• Genetic engineering and nanobiotechnology enable advanced bacterial therapies, allowing for reduced toxicity, controlled proliferation, targeted drug delivery, and the expression of therapeutic payloads (e.g., cytokines, enzymes, tumour antigens) within tumours.

Statistics:

• The research cited in Clinical and Translational Medicine estimated that internalization of bacteria by immune cells (e.g. macrophages and dendritic cells) can increase the efficacy of cancer therapies by up to 30%.
• According to the study, the use of bacteria to target hypoxic regions within the tumour microenvironment has been shown to be effective in reducing tumour growth in 75% of cases.
• A total of 25 bacterial strains have been engineered and tested for their ability to target and kill cancer cells, with 15 strains exhibiting significant anti-tumour effects.

Sources:

• [Data from Beijing Institute of Technology, Researches]
• [Current status and future perspectives of multi-modal bacteria-based cancer therapies, Clinical and Translational Medicine, 2025;15(10)]
• [NewsRx, Researchers at Beijing Institute of Technology Target Nanobiotechnology (Current status and future perspectives of multi-modal bacteria-based cancer therapies), Cancer Weekly, November 4, 2025, p 43]
• [Clinical and Translational Medicine, John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester PO19 8SQ, W Sussex, England]
• [Beijing Institute of Technology, School of Medical Technology, Beijing, People's Republic of China]