Radioactive bacteria ‘missiles’ in cancer fight

RADIOACTIVE bacteria have been developed as a potent new treatment for one of the most deadly cancers.

In laboratory tests, the modified microbes virtually halted the spread of pancreatic cancer in mice without harming healthy tissue.

The bacteria, a weakened form of the listeria bug that causes food poisoning, act like missiles tipped with atomic warheads.

When they infect cancer cells, they destroy them with blasts of radiation. But the radioactive emissions are short-lived, so damage is largely confined to the target area.

Scientists studied the treatment using mice with a highly aggressive form of pancreatic cancer. They found the bacteria dramatically reduced the cancer’s spread, or metastasis.

“Our approach has the potential to start a new era in the treatment of metastatic pancreatic cancer,” said study co-author Dr Claudia Gravekamp, from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City.

Each year, about 8,400 people in the UK are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. It is one of the deadliest cancers, with just 3.6 per cent of patients surviving five years or more.