Nonpathogenic, anaerobic bacteria are being looked at as a treatment for human tumors. The bacteria are used as delivery sytems for gene therapy. There are now genetically engineered bacteria that are free of toxic genes that can prolong the regression of subcutaneous tumors when administered with drugs. The bacteria allow the cancer drugs to be adminsitered to more regions of the tumor, therefore increasing the effectivenss of the drugs. They also prduce inflammatory cytokines that increase sensitivity of tumors to radiation. In studies with mice, it was found that there was regrsssion in most tumors and even complete cure in a considerable proportion of mice that survived.
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