Aim: This study aimed to evaluate an attenuated Salmonella ihfA-null mutant strain as therapeutic agent to control tumor growth.
Materials & methods: After bacterial toxicity evaluation, C57BL/6JUnib mice were inoculated with B16F10 cells and treated with two Salmonella strains (LGBM 1.1 and LGBM 1.41).
Results: LGBM 1.1 can reduce tumor mass, but it exerts some toxic effects. Although LGBM 1.41 is less toxic than LGBM 1.1, it does not reduce tumor mass significantly. Indeed, animals treated with LGBM 1.41 present only slightly initial delay in tumor progression and increased survival rate as compared with the control.
Conclusion: The null-mutants of ihfA gene of Salmonella Typhimurium could be a promising candidate for melanoma treatment.
Keywords: Salmonella enterica Typhimurium; cancer treatment; skin (melanoma).