A team of researchers from Shandong University in Qingdao, China have turned bacteria into tumor hunters that kill cancer, at least in the laboratory. The study was published in the scientific journal PLOS Biology. Chenghao Ma and colleagues modified the probiotic strain Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 (EcN) to produce Romidepsin (FK228). Romidepsin is an FDA-approved anticancer drug. Among other experiments, the team injected the Romidepsin-producing bacteria into mice with induced breast cancer tumors. The researchers found that EcN accumulated inside tumors and released Romidepsin. The significance of this work is that this method of drug delivery could improve efficacy and decrease toxicity by delivering more chemotherapy to the tumor site where it is needed, and expose the rest of the body to much less toxicity. To read the study click here https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3003657