Clostridium novyi-NT in cancer therapy

Verena Staedtke; Nicholas J Roberts; Ren-Yuan Bai; Shibin Zhou

doi:10.1016/j.gendis.2016.01.003

Clostridium novyi-NT in cancer therapy

Genes Dis. 2016 Feb 6;3(2):144-152. doi: 10.1016/j.gendis.2016.01.003. eCollection 2016 Jun.

Authors

Verena Staedtke^{1

2}, Nicholas J Roberts^{1

3}, Ren-Yuan Bai⁴, Shibin Zhou¹

Affiliations

¹ Ludwig Center for Cancer Genetics and Therapeutics, The Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA.
² Department of Neurology, The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutes, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA.
³ Department of Pathology, Sol Goldman Pancreatic Cancer Research Center, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA.
⁴ Department of Neurosurgery, The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutes, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA.

Abstract

The attenuated anaerobic bacterium Clostridium novyi-NT (C. novyi-NT) is known for its ability to precisely germinate in and eradicate treatment-resistant hypoxic tumors in various experimental animal models and spontaneously occurring canine sarcomas. In this article, we review the therapeutic and toxicologic aspects of C. novyi-NT therapy, key challenges and limitations, and promising strategies to optimize its performance via recombinant DNA technology and immunotherapeutic approaches, to establish C. novyi-NT as an essential tool in cancer therapy.

Keywords: Bacteria; Bacterial cancer therapy; Cancer; Clostridium; Clostridium novyi-NT; Hypoxia; Immunotherapy.

Publication types

Review

Abstract

Publication types

Grants and funding