Skip to main content

MINI REVIEW article

Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.
Sec. Synthetic Biology
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2024.1447176
This article is part of the Research Topic Education in Synthetic Biology View all 4 articles

From competition to cure: the development of live biotherapeutic products for anticancer therapy in the iGEM competition

Provisionally accepted
Luka Van den Berghe Luka Van den Berghe 1,2Joleen Masschelein Joleen Masschelein 1,2*Vitor B. Pinheiro Vitor B. Pinheiro 3*
  • 1 Laboratory for Biomolecular Discovery & Engineering, Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
  • 2 VIB KU Leuven Center for Microbiology, Flanders Institute for Biotechnology, Heverlee (Leuven), Belgium
  • 3 Rega Institute for Medical Research, Faculty of Medicine, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Cancer is a leading cause of mortality globally, often diagnosed at advanced stages with metastases already present, complicating treatment efficacy. Traditional treatments like chemotherapy and radiotherapy face challenges such as lack of specificity and drug resistance. The hallmarks of cancer, as defined by Hanahan and Weinberg, describe tumors as complex entities capable of evolving traits that promote malignancy, including sustained proliferation, resistance to cell death, and metastasis.Emerging research highlights the significant role of the microbiome in cancer development and treatment, influencing tumor progression and immune responses. This review explores the potential of live biotherapeutic products (LBPs) for cancer diagnosis and therapy, focusing on projects from the International Genetically Engineered Machines (iGEM) competition that aim to innovate LBPs for cancer treatment. Analyzing 77 projects from 2022, we highlight the progress and ongoing challenges within this research field.

    Keywords: Live biotherapeutic product, iGEM, Cancer, Synthetic Biology, therapy

    Received: 11 Jun 2024; Accepted: 04 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Van den Berghe, Masschelein and Pinheiro. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Joleen Masschelein, Laboratory for Biomolecular Discovery & Engineering, Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, 3001, Belgium
    Vitor B. Pinheiro, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Faculty of Medicine, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.