Bladder cancer is a rough thing to battle. My family has dealt with the ups and downs of cancer much like most other people. Six years ago my grandfather was diagnosed with bladder cancer after being in and out of the hospital with kidney failure and other health problems. After four years of chemo and surgery he passed away in his sleep. Almost every family has their own story of lost loved ones to the battle against cancer. But what if something as unconventional like Mycobacterium was the answer to prolonging life?
Well there is a current study going on using mice models and Micobacterium brumae. They have found that when this bacteria is introduced into the bladder it can reduce tumor size and stimulates an immune response in the area. Nothing is better at destroying cancer cells like the immune system sometimes it just needs a little push by infection to get it started. The good thing about this particular strand is that it is non pathogenic so there is no fear of infection. This is very important as infection is a cancer patients worst enemy. In mice it has been seen that the cancer tumors reduce and the life span is prolonged. Making this a widespread treatment would give families the extra time they pray for every night.
Currently, a similar treatment is used for superficial bladder cancer using Mycobacterium bovis. It is very good at keeping new tumors from forming but it is also pathogenic and if not watched carefully it can lead to infection. Like I said infection is a cancer patients worst enemy. When your immune system is already down the last thing you want to do is take antibiotics and try to fight off infections. The new treatment may only reduce tumor size but at least it doesn't present danger of infection.
There may be more hope in using bacteria to treat cancer in ways we never thought of before. Its research like this that I would love to be a part of. The answer is out there, we just need to find it.
Here's a link to the story: http://www.news-medical.net/news/20151006/Mycobacterium-could-be-more-effective-in-treating-superficial-bladder-cancer-study-finds.aspx
Great blog! I wonder if this could be applied to other cancers as well. Even though it is not a cure I feel this is just as beneficial because most people just pray for more time!
ReplyDeleteThat is so interesting. I've never thought of using bacteria to treat another disease, but then again a lot of bacteria have benefits to us.
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