The genus Bifidobacterium for cancer gene therapy.

A fundamental obstacle in cancer gene therapy is the specific targeting of therapy to solid tumor; as yet, no systemic delivery system exists. Bifidobacterium longum, a strain of domestic bacteria that is non-pathogenic and anaerobic, selectively localized to and proliferated in solid tumors after systemic application. We propose a novel approach to cancer gene therapy in which anaerobic bacteria of the genus B longum are used to achieve tumor-specific gene delivery and enzyme-prodrug therapy.