Bacteriophages: cancer diagnosis, treatment, and future prospects

Meta-analysis of fecal viromes demonstrates high diagnostic potential of the gut viral signatures for colorectal cancer and adenoma risk assessment

“…Phages are recognized as cancer diagnostic and therapeutic tools [51] , [52] and have a strong potential in the treatment of CRC. Several gut bacteria, especially the members of Fusobacterium, were associated with CRC tumorigenesis.…”

Bacteriophages as nanocarriers for targeted drug delivery and enhanced therapeutic effects

“…For example, in these studies, molecular imaging was carried out in vivo using green fluorescent protein (GFP) conjugated to phages. 183,184 Using recombinant DNA technology, Choi et al 185 co-engineered a bacteriophage that expressed cyclic RGD (cRGD) peptides on the pVIII major coat protein. They proposed that upon modification of this cRGD peptide, engineered phages with therapeutic or imaging agents could find use in therapy or diagnosis.…”

Modified Bacteriophage for Tumor Detection and Targeted Therapy

“…Phages have demonstrated great clinical potential in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer because phages can be selected for target cells, which is safer than traditional drug treatments, and phage therapy is less expensive than many other cancer therapies. Although phage therapy has made great progress in recent years, much effort is needed to understand and optimize this therapy for clinical use [ 8 ]. The development of gene recombination technology has greatly promoted the application of bacteriophage (phage) display technology in the diagnosis and therapy of malignant tumors [ 9 ].…”