Genetically Engineered Bacteria as a Promising Therapeutic Strategy Against Cancer: A Comprehensive Review
Abstract
As a significant cause of global mortality, the cancer has also economic impacts. In the era of cancer therapy, mitigating side effects and costs and overcoming drug resistance is crucial. Microbial species can grow inside the tumor microenvironment and inhibit cancer growth through direct killing of tumor cells and immunoregulatory effects. Although microbiota or their products have demonstrated anticancer effects, the possibility of acting as pathogens and exerting side effects in certain individuals is a risk. Hence, several genetically modified/engineered bacteria (GEB) have been developed to this aim with ability of diagnosing and selective targeting and destruction of cancers. Additionally, GEB are expected to be considerably more efficient, safer, more permeable, less costly, and less invasive theranostic approaches compared to wild types. Potential GEB strains such as Escherichia coli (Nissle 1917, and MG1655), Salmonella typhimurium YB1 SL7207 (aroA gene deletion), VNP20009 (∆msbB/∆purI) and ΔppGpp (P Tet and P BAD ), and Listeria monocytogenes Lm at -LLO have been developed to combat cancer cells. When used in tandem with conventional treatments, GEB substantially improve the efficacy of anticancer therapy outcomes. In addition, public acceptance, optimal timing (s), duration (s), dose (s), and strains identification, interactions with other strains and the host cells, efficacy, safety and quality, and potential risks and ethical dilemmas include major challenges.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Advances in synthetic biology allow phages to be engineered as programmable anticancer agents capable of remodeling the microbiome or delivering immunomodulatory payloads.
“Advances in synthetic biology now allow phages to be engineered as programmable anticancer agents, capable of remodeling the microbiome or delivering immunomodulatory payloads [30–33]”
From Phage therapy in oncology: opportunities for cancer prevention and treatment (2026) · cites this paper as [33]
Phages can deliver targeted therapeutic payloads.
“Phages can eliminate cancer-associated bacteria, remodel the tumor microenvironment, enhance antitumor immunity, and deliver targeted therapeutic payloads.”
From Phage therapy in oncology: opportunities for cancer prevention and treatment (2026) · cites this paper as [33]
Cites
Fecal microbiota transplant overcomes resistance to anti–PD-1 therapy in melanoma patients
Davar, D., Dzutsev, A. K., McCulloch, J. A., Rodrigues, R. R., Chauvin, J.-M., Morrison, R. M., Deblasio, R. N., Menna, C., Ding, Q., Pagliano, O., et al. (2021) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.abf3363 · Cited by 1,781 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Prebiotics, probiotics, postbiotics, targeted antibiotics, diet-based therapies, and fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) are promising approaches to be used [47, 48].”
Fecal microbiota transplant promotes response in immunotherapy-refractory melanoma patients
Baruch, E. N., Youngster, I., Ben-Betzalel, G., Ortenberg, R., Lahat, A., Katz, L., Adler, K., Dick-Necula, D., Raskin, S., Bloch, N., et al. (2021) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.abb5920 · Cited by 1,757 · see citing works
Microbiome-derived inosine modulates response to checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy
Mager, L. F., Burkhard, R., Pett, N., Cooke, N. C. A., Brown, K., Ramay, H., Paik, S., Stagg, J., Groves, R. A., Gallo, M., et al. (2020) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.abc3421 · Cited by 1,407 · see citing works
The pros, cons, and many unknowns of probiotics
Suez, J., Zmora, N., Segal, E., & Elinav, E. (2019) · Nature Medicine · doi:10.1038/s41591-019-0439-x · Cited by 1,398 · see citing works
Host lifestyle affects human microbiota on daily timescales
David, L. A., Materna, A. C., Friedman, J., Campos-Baptista, M. I., Blackburn, M. C., Perrotta, A., Erdman, S. E., & Alm, E. J. (2014) · Genome biology · doi:10.1186/gb-2014-15-7-r89 · Cited by 950 · see citing works
Engineering the perfect (bacterial) cancer therapy
Forbes, N. S. (2010) · Nature Reviews Cancer · doi:10.1038/nrc2934 · Cited by 905 · see citing works
Tumour-targeting bacteria engineered to fight cancer
Zhou, S., Gravekamp, C., Bermudes, D., & Liu, K. (2018) · Nature Reviews Cancer · doi:10.1038/s41568-018-0070-z · Cited by 821 · cited 3× · see citing works
“Another bacterium, L. monocytogenes , can be modified by deleting its prfA gene, a master virulence regulator gene, to create a vaccine strain expressing tumor antigens [49, 110].”
Synchronized cycles of bacterial lysis for in vivo delivery
Din, M. O., Danino, T., Prindle, A., Skalak, M., Selimkhanov, J., Allen, K., Julio, E., Atolia, E., Tsimring, L. S., Bhatia, S. N., et al. (2016) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature18930 · Cited by 784 · see citing works
Metabolic modulation of tumours with engineered bacteria for immunotherapy
Canale, F. P., Basso, C., Antonini, G., Perotti, M., Li, N., Sokolovska, A., Neumann, J., James, M. J., Geiger, S., Jin, W., et al. (2021) · Nature · doi:10.1038/s41586-021-04003-2 · Cited by 619 · see citing works
An ingestible bacterial-electronic system to monitor gastrointestinal health
Mimee, M., Nadeau, P., Hayward, A., Carim, S., Flanagan, S., Jerger, L., Collins, J., McDonnell, S., Swartwout, R., Citorik, R. J., et al. (2018) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.aas9315 · Cited by 606 · see citing works
Isabella, V. M., Ha, B. N., Castillo, M. J., Lubkowicz, D. J., Rowe, S. E., Millet, Y. A., Anderson, C. L., Li, N., Fisher, A. B., West, K. A., et al. (2018) · Nature Biotechnology · doi:10.1038/nbt.4222 · Cited by 605 · see citing works
Pan-cancer analyses reveal cancer-type-specific fungal ecologies and bacteriome interactions
Narunsky-Haziza, L., Sepich-Poore, G. D., Livyatan, I., Asraf, O., Martino, C., Nejman, D., Gavert, N., Stajich, J. E., Amit, G., González, A., et al. (2022) · Cell · doi:10.1016/j.cell.2022.09.005 · Cited by 538 · see citing works
Mode of delivery affects the bacterial community in the newborn gut
Biasucci, G., Rubini, M., Riboni, S., Morelli, L., Bessi, E., & Retetangos, C. (2010) · Early Human Development · doi:10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2010.01.004 · Cited by 507 · see citing works
Engineering bacteria for diagnostic and therapeutic applications
Riglar, D. T., & Silver, P. A. (2018) · Nature Reviews Microbiology · doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2017.172 · Cited by 460 · see citing works
Probiotic-derived ferrichrome inhibits colon cancer progression via JNK-mediated apoptosis
Konishi, H., Fujiya, M., Tanaka, H., Ueno, N., Moriichi, K., Sasajima, J., Ikuta, K., Akutsu, H., Tanabe, H., & Kohgo, Y. (2016) · Nature Communications · doi:10.1038/ncomms12365 · Cited by 287 · see citing works
Starnes, C. O. (1992) · Nature · doi:10.1038/357011a0 · Cited by 284 · see citing works
Food-Grade Bacteria Expressing Elafin Protect Against Inflammation and Restore Colon Homeostasis
Motta, J.-P., Bermúdez-Humarán, L. G., Deraison, C., Martin, L., Rolland, C., Rousset, P., Boue, J., Dietrich, G., Chapman, K., Kharrat, P., et al. (2012) · Science Translational Medicine · doi:10.1126/scitranslmed.3004212 · Cited by 257 · see citing works
Li, Y., Ma, X., Yue, Y., Zhang, K., Cheng, K., Feng, Q., Ma, N., Liang, J., Zhang, T., Zhang, L., et al. (2022) · Advanced Materials · doi:10.1002/adma.202109984 · Cited by 247 · see citing works
Quorum-sensing <i>Salmonella</i> selectively trigger protein expression within tumors
Swofford, C. A., Van Dessel, N., & Forbes, N. S. (2015) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1414558112 · Cited by 145 · see citing works
Targeted cancer immunotherapy with genetically engineered oncolytic Salmonella typhimurium
Guo, Y., Chen, Y., Liu, X., Min, J.-J., Tan, W., & Zheng, J. H. (2020) · Cancer Letters · doi:10.1016/j.canlet.2019.10.033 · Cited by 124 · see citing works
Urbanska, A. M., Bhathena, J., Martoni, C., & Prakash, S. (2009) · Digestive Diseases and Sciences · doi:10.1007/s10620-008-0363-2 · Cited by 80 · see citing works
Kiousi, D. E., Efstathiou, C., Tzampazlis, V., Plessas, S., Panopoulou, M., Koffa, M., & Galanis, A. (2023) · Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology · doi:10.3389/fcimb.2023.1127256 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Phage therapy in oncology: opportunities for cancer prevention and treatment
Mutalik, V. K., Inman, J. L., Chang, H., Arkin, A., & Mao, J.-H. (2026) · Trends in Molecular Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.molmed.2026.02.001 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
- Authors
- Zahedifard, Z., Mahmoodi, S., & Ghasemian, A.
- Affiliations
- Fasa University of Medical Sciences (IR)
- Corresponding author
- Mahmoodi, Shirin
- Ghasemian, Abdolmajid
- Venue
- Biotechnology and Applied Biochemistry
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2025-02-21
- Volume
- 72
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 1458-1476
- ISSN
- 0885-4513 (ISSN-L)
- 1470-8744
- OpenAlex
- W4407860114
- Cited by
- 12
- References
- 22
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 5
- FWCI
- 1.22
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Biotechnology and Applied Biochemistry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Biotechnology › Cancer Research and Treatments
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Probiotics and Fermented Foods
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Bacterial Genetics and Biotechnology
- Keywords
- engineered bacteria, cancer therapy, theranostics, tumor microenvironment, Escherichia coli Nissle 1917, Salmonella typhimurium, VNP20009, drug resistance, combination therapy, cancer immunotherapy, microbiota
- MeSH terms
- Microorganisms, Genetically-Modified, Animals, Bacteria, Escherichia coli, Genetic Engineering, Humans, Neoplasms
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
