Bacterial Peptide and Bacteriocins in Treating Gynecological Cancers

After breast cancer, gynecological cancer is the most prevalent type of cancer in female population. The most frequently diagnosed types of gynecological cancers are cervical and ovarian cancer. Since the conventional treatments of cancer were unsuccessful in complete treatment of malignancy and they faced limitations, there is a need for the development of new treatments. Among the new treatments, bacteriotherapy has attracted much attention due to its promising results. Bacteriotherapy means using bacteria strains or their different products in the treatment of cancer. The key advantage of bacteriotherapy in comparison to conventional therapy is the specific toxicity toward tumor cells. Moreover, living, attenuated, or genetically modified strains of bacteria are able to selectively target and internalize into the tumor cells, colonize and service within the hypoxic condition of the tumor, and finally lead to tumor suppression. The present study aimed to overview the current knowledge of using bacteria and their substances (including peptides, bacteriocins, spores, and toxins) in the treatment of different types of gynecological cancers.