Scientists Using Salmonella to Treat Cancer

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Science Scientists Working on Cancer Treatment Using Salmonella Bacteria

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Salmonella Cancer Treatment (Source: Reuters)

Researchers are waiting for approval to go to human trials

Cancer is one of the most researched diseases on the planet and any breakthrough in treating or diagnosing the deadly disease offers the potential to save human lives. Researchers in the U.S. and Italy working together have developed a new method of killing cancer cells using the salmonella bacteria.Salmonella can cause serious illness in humans on its own. The researchers say that they are using a form of the bacteria that does not cause illness in humans. The bacterial is able to stimulate an immune response in the human body that leads to the body attacking cancer cells and destroying them.The salmonella bacteria treatment is part of a new class of cancer treatments that are called immunotherapies also known as therapeutic vaccines. These types of treatment use the body's own defense to fight disease.Researcher Rescigno from the European Institute of Oncology in Milan said, "We did experiments first in mice and then in cancer cells and immune cells from human patients, and found that the salmonella was doing exactly the same job. Now we are ready to go into (testing on) humans, but we are waiting for authorization."The salmonella bacteria used in the treatment flags the cancer cells for the body allowing the immune system to target and attack the cells. The process of flagging the cancerous cells uses a protein called connexin 43. This protein is responsible for the tiny communication channels between different types of cells. According to the researchers, these little channels allow tumor protein peptides to enter immune cells and act as red flags for the body, thereby triggering an immune response.The researchers targeted cells mainly from melanoma, which is the deadliest form of skin cancer and has few treatments and no cure today. However, the researchers say that the treatment could also be used to target any type of cancer.

So far, the treatment has been used in mice and with living human cells. The researchers are waiting for FDA approval for human trials now.

The treatment could also be used for prostate cancer, which researchers recently discovered a potential marker for.

http://www.dailytech.com/Scientists+Working+on+Cancer+Treatment+Using+Salmonella+Bacteria/article19330.htm