Scientists Look At Bacteria Toxin For Brain Cancer

- Researchers at the John Wayne Cancer Institute are looking at usingPseudomonas exotoxin to treat brain tumors, and have received US Food and Drug Administration approval to commence Phase I/II trials with the poison and its delivery system. As cancer cells have functional receptors for interleukin-4, this is used as a targeting vector to deliver the exotoxin to the tumor. Preclinical models have demonstrated that, within a number of hours following administration, the toxin destroys the tumor cell's ability to produce protein. Thus within two to three weeks, most tumors will shrink, say the researchers.