Our ability to use engineered bacteria for cancer therapy is rapidly expanding. A survey of preclinical, clinical and commercial efforts provides an overview of the state of the field, revealing trends that could inform future directions.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals
Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription
$32.99 / 30 days
cancel any time
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $21.58 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout


References
Forbes, N. S. Nat. Rev. Cancer 10, 785–794 (2010).
Zhou, S., Gravekamp, C., Bermudes, D. & Liu, K. Nat. Rev. Cancer 18, 727–743 (2018).
Duong, M. T.-Q., Qin, Y., You, S.-H. & Min, J.-J. Exp. Mol. Med. 51, 1–15 (2019).
Sieow, B. F.-L., Wun, K. S., Yong, W. P., Hwang, I. Y. & Chang, M. W. Trends Cancer 7, 447–464 (2021).
Lynch, J. P., Goers, L. & Lesser, C. F. Trends Pharmacol. Sci. 43, 772–786 (2022).
Kwon, S.-Y., Thi-Thu Ngo, H., Son, J., Hong, Y. & Min, J.-J. Nat. Rev. Clin. Oncol. 21, 569–589 (2024).
Chien, T., Doshi, A. & Danino, T. Curr. Opin. Syst. Biol. 5, 1–8 (2017).
Nejman, D. et al. Science 368, 973–980 (2020).
Waldman, A. D., Fritz, J. M. & Lenardo, M. J. Nat. Rev. Immunol. 20, 651–668 (2020).
Hobohm, U. Cancer Immunol. Immunother. 50, 391–396 (2001).
Quispe-Tintaya, W. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 110, 8668–8673 (2013).
Warren, H. S. et al. J. Infect. Dis. 201, 223–232 (2010).
Toso, J. F. et al. J. Clin. Oncol. 20, 142–152 (2002).
Nemunaitis, J. et al. Cancer Gene Ther. 10, 737–744 (2003).
Yang, S. et al. Nat. Biotechnol. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-024-02418-6 (2024).
Vincent, R. L. et al. Science 382, 211–218 (2023).
Wang, W. et al. Nat. Biomed. Eng. 6, 44–53 (2022).
Cronin, M. et al. Mol. Ther. 22, 1188–1197 (2014).
Singer, Z. S., Pabón, J., Huang, H., Rice, C. M. & Danino, T. Preprint at bioRxiv https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.09.28.559873 (2023).
Khanduja, S. et al. iScience 27, 109813 (2024).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
T.D. and S.C. have a financial interest in GenCirq Inc.
Supplementary information
Supplementary Information
Notes on search methodology.
Supplementary Tables 1-6
Bacterial cancer therapy preclinical papers, clinical trials, companies, BCG clinical trials, search queries.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ballister, E.R., Michels, A., Vincent, R.L. et al. The emerging landscape of engineered bacteria cancer therapies. Nat Biotechnol 43, 672–676 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-025-02623-x
Published:
Issue date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-025-02623-x