Bacteria engineered to eat cancerous tumours from the inside out have been developed by Waterloo Engineering researchers in a promising new approach to treatment.
The interdisciplinary research team found two key solutions to use a bacterium called Clostridium sporogenes, which is commonly found in soil and can only grow in environments with absolutely no oxygen, to effectively consume cancer.
The core of a solid, cancerous tumour is comprised of dead cells and is oxygen-free, making it an ideal breeding ground for the bacterium to multiply.
“Bacteria spores enter the tumour, finding an environment where there are lots of nutrients and no oxygen, which this organism prefers, and so it starts eating those nutrients and growing in size,” said Dr. Marc Aucoin, a chemical engineering professor.
“So, we are now colonizing that central space, and the bacterium is essentially ridding the body of the tumour.”
The promising project grew out of work by PhD student Bahram Zargar, who was supervised by Dr. Brian Ingalls, a professor of applied mathematics at Waterloo, and Dr. Pu Chen, a retired professor of chemical engineering.
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