Salmonella bug could be used to treat prostate tumours

A HARMLESS strain of salmonella bacteria could be used to shrink prostate tumours, scientists claim.

They say the ‘game-changing’ breakthrough could eventually treat a range of cancers.

It could mean patients only having to undergo one treatment which will not damage their healthy cells, avoiding the side effects of chemotherapy or radiotherapy.

Scientists modified a strain of salmonella and used it to shrink cancer cells in the lab without damaging any healthy tissue.

Although salmonella is usually associated with food poisoning, the modified strain is only toxic to cancer cells. This targets tumours, turning off their growth mechanism and starving them of nutrients so they cannot spread.

Professor Paul Dyson, who carried out the study at Swansea

‘This research is a game-changer’

University, told the BBC: ‘We’re exploiting a natural system within our cells which enables specific genes to be switched on or off.

‘The molecules we deliver with the help of the salmonella trigger this “switching off” of the genes – the genes that drive the growth of the tumour.

‘This is a completely harmless treatment. The salmonella will not cause any disease to any healthy tissue.’

His colleague Dr Claire Morgan added: ‘I do believe this research is a game-changer. Therapies that currently exist are very toxic and people can become ill and quite resistant to them as well.

‘We feel that this could potentially change the way cancer therapy is delivered.’

The treatment will now be tested in pre-clinical trials and could pave the way for other cancer therapies.

Prostate cancer is the most common form of the disease in men, mainly affecting the over50s. More than 47,000 new cases are diagnosed each year in the UK and around 10,000 patients die.