Bacterial compositions for the treatment of cancer

Abstract

The invention provides in part methods of treating cancers of a specific organ or tissue by administering an composition that is antigenically specific for one or more microbes that are pathogenic in the specific organ or tissue in which the cancer is situated. The formulations of the invention thereby facilitate activation of an immune response to a cancer in a particular tissue or organ. In some embodiments, microbial species of the endogenous flora which are capable of causing infection in the relevant organ or tissue may be used in the formulation of the antigenic compositions. The administration of the immunogenic compositions may be repeated relatively frequently over a relatively long period of time, in a dosage that reproduces a consistent visible inflammatory reaction at the successive site or sites of administration, which may for example be by intradermal or subcutaneous injection.The invention provides in part methods of treating cancers of a specific organ, tissue or cell in a subject by administering an antigen of one or more pathogenic bacterial species that are pathogenic in the specific organ, tissue or cell.

Description

technical field [0001] The present invention provides general methods of treating cancer. More specifically, the present invention provides methods of treating cancer using bacterial compositions. Background technique [0002] More than one third of people in developed countries are diagnosed with cancer. More than one in four people die from cancer. The treatment of cancer mainly relies on therapies such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. While these approaches are beneficial for some types and stages of cancer, they have proven to be of limited efficacy in many common types and stages of cancer. For example, surgery to treat tumors requires complete removal of cancerous tissue to prevent recurrence. Likewise, radiation therapy requires complete destruction of cancer cells. This is difficult because, in theory, a single malignant cell could proliferate sufficiently to cause cancer recurrence. Additionally, surgical treatment and radiation therapy directed at the ...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

All of the above treatments have proven to be of limited use: cytokine therapy is only effective in a minority of cases, similar to dendritic cell therapy, which is also time consuming and expensive

Various vaccine therapies have shown highly variable efficacy and, in the case of bacterial vaccines, have been shown to be ineffective in a variety of cancers

Images