Professor Paul Dyson and his team at Swansea University are working on methods to selectively deliver treatment only to tumours, avoiding the rest of the body, thanks to funding from the Medical Research Council’s Impact Acceleration Account.

Conventional cancer treatments like chemotherapy and radiotherapy, while effective, are often accompanied by severe side effects due to their lack of specificity – damaging not only tumours but healthy tissue as well.

This innovative research focuses on a new generation of biological cancer therapies that harness the natural properties of bacteria. Some strains of bacteria thrive in the unique conditions of a tumour, such as low oxygen and acidic pH – conditions rarely found in healthy tissue. This makes them ideal vehicles for delivering therapeutic agents directly into the tumour, while leaving the rest of the body untouched.

In earlier stages of the research, the team focused on using these bacteria to suppress tumour growth, essentially delivering therapeutic payloads that halt the cancer’s progression. Now, their efforts have evolved into a dual-action approach. Not only do these bacteria kill tumour cells directly, but they also help to stimulate the body’s immune system, teaching it to recognise and fight the cancer more effectively.

This combined effect of killing cancer cells and reactivating the immune system could offer long-term benefits beyond what is possible with current treatments.

Unlike chemotherapy or radiation, which can’t distinguish between healthy and cancerous tissue, this bacterial therapy is highly specific. The bacteria naturally gravitate to tumour sites, drastically reducing the risk of damage to healthy organs and tissues. This means patients could be spared many of the harmful side effects commonly associated with traditional cancer treatments, such as fatigue, nausea, and immune suppression.

The research is already yielding promising results in experimental animal models. Tumour-bearing animals treated with the therapy are living significantly longer, and importantly, the treatment has shown no harmful side effects so far. These findings are laying the groundwork for future clinical applications.

The team is now working on optimising the therapy and exploring ways to scale up for potential human trials. If successful, this approach could revolutionise how we treat cancer, offering patients a safer, more precise, and more effective option.