$1 Million Grant Boosts Research On Cancer-Killing Salmonella Bacteria

March 3, 2008 11:22 p.m. EST

Amherst, MA (AHN) - A Massachusetts scientists has received more than $1 million in grant to fund his research on the use of Salmonella bacteria to kill cancer tumor.

Neil Forbes, an assistant professor in the chemical engineering department of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, needs further research on the technique that he successfully tested in laboratory mice with cancer. In his experiments, a combination of Salmonella bacteria and radiation therapies prolonged the lives of mice beyond 30 days.

Forbes engineered Salmonella bacteria laden with a special drug and can penetrate cancer tissues unreachable by chemotherapy drugs. Once it reaches the target tumor, the bacteria releases the drug that activates the "death receptor" in cancer cells. The receptor induces the cells to kill themselves.

According to Newswise, Forbes said Salmonella bacteria can swim anywhere using their flagella as propellers and sensors to guide them where to go. The bacteria are also capable of manufacturing chemicals. His research focuses on controlling where the bacteria go, what chemical it will make and when they will make such chemical.

Salmonella bacteria has been used to treat cancer for decades but the success rate is moderate. Forbes' research on how to bring the bacteria deep into tumor sites will help boost the potential of such technique in cancer treatment.