Improving chemotherapy by lowering tumor pressure

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Fascinating stuff coming out of cancer treatment research these days. A couple that have really caught my attention recently - using polio virus to shrink brain tumors and scorpion venom that “paints” cancer cells.

http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/04/08/397364328/doctors-test-tumor-paint-in-people

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There are quite a variety of bacteria that can make and utilize hyaluronidase enzymes to break down and infiltrate human cells. It seems like you could engineer a strain to specifically generate enzymes for tumor hyaluronic acid (assuming its distinctive) then when the tumor is weakened zap them with an antibiotic. Or program them not to replicate so that they don’t become an invasive species…

It’s unlikely to be distinctive, sadly - it’s produced by the exact same genes and pathways, so …

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