Targeting Lung Microbiota to Reduce Tumor Burden
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current treatments for lung cancer, particularly lung adenocarcinoma, have low overall survival rates and are complicated by pulmonary infections, with the role of lung microbiota in cancer development and progression remaining unclear, necessitating new strategies to target microbiota-induced inflammation and cancer cell proliferation.
Innovation Solution
The method involves administering therapeutics to reduce the local bacterial load in the lungs, deplete tumor-infiltrating immune cells, and inhibit cytokines and chemokines such as IL-1β, IL-23, and IL-17, which are stimulated by lung microbiota, using antibiotics, antibodies, and other targeted therapies to block or deplete specific immune cells and pathways promoting tumor growth.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional lung cancer treatments are used, then cancer therapy is provided, but overall survival rates remain very low and pulmonary infections complicate the course
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful effect of lung microbiota that promotes tumor growth into a beneficial target for therapy. By identifying that microbiota-induced inflammation drives cancer progression, the invention targets this same microbiota with antibiotics and anti-inflammatory agents, thereby converting the harmful microbiota relationship into a treatable pathway that improves survival while reducing infection complications
2Adaptability or versatility
If the role of lung microbiota in cancer development is investigated, then new treatment strategies can be developed, but the mechanism remains unclear and requires further research
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses anti-inflammatory agents and antibiotics as intermediaries to mediate between the lung microbiota and the immune system. These agents serve as measurable tools to test the hypothesis that microbiota-induced inflammation drives cancer progression, thereby making the previously unclear mechanism detectable and treatable through controlled intervention
3Ease of manufacture
If targeted therapies for lung adenocarcinoma are developed, then specific cancer pathways are addressed, but overall survival rates remain very low
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by using a multi-functional approach that combines antibiotics (to reduce microbiota), anti-inflammatory agents (to block inflammation pathways), and immunomodulators (to regulate immune response). This combination therapy targets multiple pathways simultaneously - the microbiota, the inflammatory response, and the immune system - thereby improving upon single-targeted therapies and achieving better survival outcomes
Data Source
AI summary
It has been discovered that lung tumor growth is associated with a dysregulation of the local microbiota, including an increased total bacterial load and reduced bacterial diversity in the airway. In the lungs, commensal bacteria, which are otherwise non-pathogenic and colonize pulmonary tissue at a much lower density in healthy individuals, provoke chronic inflammation and exacerbation of lung cancer through tumor-infiltrating immune cells. Thus, targeting the lung microbiota and its responding immune pathways is useful in treating lung cancer. Disclosed are compositions and methods targeting the lung microbiota and its responding immune pathways in a subject by specific targeting of commensal bacteria in the subject. Typically, the methods involve administering an effective amount of one or more therapeutics such as an antibiotic that reduces the local bacterial load, blocks or depletes tumor-infiltrating immune cells, and/or locally inhibits one or more cytokines or chemokines.