{"entity":{"id":"bacterial-vector-vaccines","kind":"technology","name":"Bacterial vector cancer vaccines","aka":[],"tldr":"Weakened bacteria such as Listeria engineered to carry tumour antigens, using the body's strong response to infection to train T cells against cancer.","summary":"Live attenuated Listeria monocytogenes and other bacteria naturally infect antigen-presenting cells and trigger powerful innate and T-cell responses. Engineered strains secreting tumour antigens (Advaxis's ADXS-HPV against HPV E7 in cervical cancer, and strains targeting mesothelin or neoantigens) reached phase 2 and 3 trials; results were disappointing and the approach is now concentrated in combination studies and personalised designs. Related work uses engineered bacteria to deliver payloads inside tumours.","status":"phase-2","asOf":"2026-09-04","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cancer_vaccine","links":[{"label":"Wikipedia","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cancer_vaccine"}],"tags":[],"related":[],"cancers":["cervical","pancreatic"],"sections":["immunotherapy"],"technologies":[],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":[],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"principle":"Attenuated bacteria expressing a tumour antigen fused to an immunogenic bacterial protein are infused, infect dendritic cells and present the antigen with strong innate danger signals.","strengths":["Potent innate adjuvant effect","Manufacturable and off the shelf"],"limitations":["Phase 3 failure in cervical cancer","Infection risk in immunosuppressed patients"]},"route":"/technologies/bacterial-vector-vaccines/","neighbours":{"cancer":[{"id":"cervical","kind":"cancer","name":"Cervical cancer","route":"/cancers/cervical/"},{"id":"pancreatic","kind":"cancer","name":"Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma","route":"/cancers/pancreatic/"}],"section":[{"id":"immunotherapy","kind":"section","name":"Immunotherapy","route":"/fronts/immunotherapy/"}],"technology":[{"id":"engineered-bacteria-therapy","kind":"technology","name":"Engineered bacteria as living cancer drugs","route":"/technologies/engineered-bacteria-therapy/"}],"term":[{"id":"vaccines-and-oncolytic-viruses","kind":"term","name":"Cancer vaccines and oncolytic viruses","route":"/terms/vaccines-and-oncolytic-viruses/"}]}}