The power of phages: revolutionizing cancer treatment

Abstract

Cancer is a devastating disease with a high global mortality rate and is projected to increase further in the coming years. Current treatment options, such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy, have limitations including side effects, variable effectiveness, high costs, and limited availability. There is a growing need for alternative treatments that can target cancer cells specifically with fewer side effects. Phages, that infect bacteria but not eukaryotic cells, have emerged as promising cancer therapeutics due to their unique properties, including specificity and ease of genetic modification. Engineered phages can transform cancer treatment by targeting cancer cells while sparing healthy ones. Phages exhibit versatility as nanocarriers, capable of delivering therapeutic agents like gene therapy, immunotherapy, and vaccines. Phages are extensively used in vaccine development, with filamentous, tailed, and icosahedral phages explored for different antigen expression possibilities. Engineered filamentous phages bring benefits such as built in adjuvant properties, cost-effectiveness, versatility in multivalent formulations, feasibility of oral administration, and stability. Phage-based vaccines stimulate the innate immune system by engaging pattern recognition receptors on antigen-presenting cells, enhancing phage peptide antigen presentation to B-cells and T-cells. This review presents recent phage therapy advances and challenges in cancer therapy, exploring its versatile tools and vaccine potential.

Monoclonal Antibody Development for Cancer Treatment Using the Phage Display Library Platform

“…The phage display library finds another compelling application in the development of tumor-targeting peptides, particularly for diagnostic purposes [89,90]. These peptides play a pivotal role in creating imaging agents designed to specifically illuminate cancerous lesions.…”

Improving Pharmacokinetics of Peptides Using Phage Display

“…Phage display was pioneered by Dr. George Smith at the University of Missouri in 1985 [ 1 ]. The technology is a combinatorial technique that employs the use of an assembled library of filamentous bacteriophages, in which the DNA has been genetically modified, resulting in the fusion of a foreign peptide or antibody to the N-terminal end of one of the viral coat proteins [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ]. Such phage libraries provide researchers with a vast pool from which polypeptide-based ligands that exhibit high affinity and specificity towards a target antigen can be selected.…”