A novel enemy of cancer: recent investigations into protozoan anti-tumor properties

Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2024 Jan 11:13:1325144. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2023.1325144. eCollection 2023.

Abstract

Cancer remains a significant global health issue, despite advances in screening and treatment. While existing tumor treatment protocols such as surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy have proven effective in enhancing the prognosis for some patients, these treatments do not benefit all patients. Consequently, certain types of cancer continue to exhibit a relatively low 5-year survival rate. Therefore, the pursuit of novel tumor intervention strategies may help improve the current effectiveness of tumor treatment. Over the past few decades, numerous species of protozoa and their components have exhibited anti-tumor potential via immune and non-immune mechanisms. This discovery introduces a new research direction for the development of new and effective cancer treatments. Through in vitro experiments and studies involving tumor-bearing mice, the anti-tumor ability of Toxoplasma gondii, Plasmodium, Trypanosoma cruzi, and other protozoa have unveiled diverse mechanisms by which protozoa combat cancer, demonstrating encouraging prospects for their application. In this review, we summarize the anti-tumor ability and anti-tumor mechanisms of various protozoa and explore the potential for their clinical development and application.

Keywords: angiogenesis; anti-tumor; immune response; protozoa; protozoan components.

Publication types

  • Review
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Humans
  • Immunotherapy / methods
  • Mice
  • Neoplasms* / therapy
  • Plasmodium*
  • Toxoplasma*
  • Trypanosoma cruzi*

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81972190 and 81702247), the Key Projects on Technological Innovation and Application Development of Chongqing (195), the Excellent Talent Program of Chongqing (cstc2022ycjh-bgzxm0109), and the Key Projects of Talent Incubation Plan of Xinqiao Hospital (2022YQB012).