Possible new treatment for bladder cancer using a mycobacterium
Collaborators at the UAB and IBEC have found a mycobacterium that is more effective in treating superficial bladder cancer and does not cause infections, unlike those used up to now.
Mycobacteria are the only bacteria used in cancer treatment. The administration of the bacterium Mycobacterium bovis (BCG) is the current treatment for superficial bladder cancer, and is inserted directly into the bladder through a catheter. BCG prevents new tumours from appearing, but despite its efficacy it has many adverse side effects, the most serious being BCG infections that need to be treated with antituberculous drugs.
Integrative Cell and Tissue Dynamics group leader and ICREA research professor Xavier Trepat has been profiled in El País, where he discusses how combining physics and biology can open new roads to discovering mechanisms that can help us overcome disease, regenerate organs and improve ageing.
Next week will be a full one at IBEC, with several important events on the agenda.