Chinese scientists use E coli to fight breast tumours from within in mice study

The targeted cancer therapy using bacteria could be much less toxic than traditional treatments, research team says in paper2-MIN READ2-MIN ListenPublished: 2:00pm, 18 Mar 2026Chinese scientists say they have turned E coli into a cancer therapy that can colonise tumour cells, as well as produce and deliver an existing cancer drug directly from within, reducing the toxic side effects of traditional chemotherapy.The research, performed on mice with breast cancer, paved the way for targeted cancer treatments in future, said the scientists from Shandong University in the eastern port city of Qingdao.Escherichia coli (E coli) is a group of bacteria commonly found in the gut. While most strains are harmless, some strains cause watery diarrhoea, vomiting and a fever. China turns to AI to ease overstretched healthcare systemChina turns to AI to ease overstretched healthcare systemIn the study published in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS Biology on Wednesday, the Chinese team worked on a strain called E coli Nissle 1917 (EcN).It was named after German doctor Alfred Nissle, who isolated it from the faeces of a healthy soldier during an outbreak of diarrhoea in World War I. Nissle later developed a probiotic formulation containing the strain, which is used to treat gastrointestinal diseases, including diarrhoea.In addition to its known role in the gut, scientists have been exploring it as a promising candidate to distribute cancer treatment.The probiotic strain showed “the capacity to both accumulate and proliferate within solid tumours, which makes it a highly promising live vector for application in bacterial cancer therapy,” the Chinese team wrote.The researchers said the “engineered EcN enables drug biosynthesis and precise delivery, offering powerful anticancer activity”.