This technology is an orally-administered engineered probiotic that can be used to screen for and treat colorectal cancer.
Unmet Need: Non-invasive screening, prevention, and treatment for colorectal cancer
The current standard of care for colorectal cancer screening is a colonoscopy. While effective at detecting cancer, this procedure is time-consuming, inconvenient for patients, and costly for healthcare providers. Additionally, there are risks associated with the procedure and the anesthesia required for it. Since early detection and intervention is key in treating colorectal cancer, an easier, non-invasive screening method could increase patient compliance and improve patient outcomes.
The Technology: Engineered probiotic for non-invasive colorectal cancer screening and treatment
This technology is an engineered probiotic that can be used for non-invasive screening and treatment of colorectal cancer. The probiotics selectively colonize tumor tissues and can be engineered to secrete urine-detectable screening molecules for tumor discovery, or immunotherapeutics for tumor reduction. This technology is orally-delivered and provides in situ reduction of tumor burden.
This technology has been validated in mouse models.
Applications:
- Immunotherapy for cancer treatment
- Diagnostic tool for cancer screening and monitoring treatment response
- Marker for tumor visualization
- Research tool for colorectal cancer studies
Advantages:
- Non-invasive cancer screening
- In situ tumor reduction
- Patient-friendly to increase compliance
- Orally-available
- Combined cancer screening and treatment
- Cost-effective
Lead Inventor:
Tal Danino, Ph.D.
Patent Information:
Patent pending
Related Publications:
Chien T, Jones DR, Danino T. “Engineered bacterial production of volatile methyl salicylate” ACS Synth Biol. 2021 Jan 15; 10(1): 204-208.
Gurbatri CR, Lia I, Vincent R, Coker C, Castro S, Treuting PM, Hinchliffe TE, Arpaia N, Danino T. “Engineered probiotics for local tumor delivery of checkpoint blockade nanobodies” Sci Transl Med. 2020 Feb 12; 12(530).
Danino T, Prindle A, Kwong GA, Skalak M, Li H, Allen K, Hasty J, Bhatia SN. “Programmable probiotics for detection of cancer in urine” Sci Transl Med. 2015 May 27; 7(289).
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