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New Breast Cancer Treatment Considerations: A Brief Review of the Use of Genetically Modified (Attenuated) Bacteria as Therapy for Advanced and Metastatic Breast Cancer

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Cell and Molecular Biology of Breast Cancer

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Abstract

Breast cancer is still among the most common life-threatening cancers that affects one out of eight women, and it further affects a small percent of the male population. While early detection has been helpful to reduce the mortality rate, we currently still do not have cures for advanced and metastatic breast cancer. In recent years, new strategies have been proposed to treat breast cancers with poor prognosis by utilizing genetically modified bacteria, including Salmonella typhimurium, that preferentially replicate within solid tumors (1,000:1 and up to 10,000:1 compared to noncancerous tissue) destroying cancer cells without causing septic shock that is typically associated with wild-type S. typhimurium infections. Furthermore, these bacteria have the potential to be utilized as drug delivery systems to more effectively target different subpopulations of breast tumor cells. This chapter reviews progress in using genetically modified S. typhimurium for destruction of breast cancer cells in culture and in solid breast cancer tissue. We discuss the potential and future prospects for applications in clinical trials as novel breast cancer therapy for advanced stages of the disease. We further discuss potential combination therapies for optimal destruction of breast cancer cells.

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Acknowledgment

This work was supported by the Cancer Research Center.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cancer Research Center, Columbia, MO, 65201, USA

    Robert A. Kazmierczak, Alison Dino & Abraham Eisenstark

  2. Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, University of Missouri-Columbia, 1600 E Rollins Street, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA

    Heide Schatten

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  1. Robert A. Kazmierczak
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  2. Alison Dino
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Correspondence to Heide Schatten .

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    Heide Schatten

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Kazmierczak, R.A., Dino, A., Eisenstark, A., Schatten, H. (2013). New Breast Cancer Treatment Considerations: A Brief Review of the Use of Genetically Modified (Attenuated) Bacteria as Therapy for Advanced and Metastatic Breast Cancer. In: Schatten, H. (eds) Cell and Molecular Biology of Breast Cancer. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-634-4_16

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