Cancer remains one of the most deadly diseases worldwide with the number of cases steadily increasing. Advances in our understanding of cancer biology offer a series of new treatment options called experimental cancer therapies, which intend or claim to treat cancer by improving, supplementing or replacing conventional methods. One of these approaches is bacterial cancer therapy. An exciting approach to increase the efficacy of a bacterial vector and reduce its therapeutic dosage is the use of bacteria with a prodrug converting enzyme and using them to deliver the enzyme to the locality of the tumor. Glycyrrhizic acid (GL), a glucuronide compound extracted from licorice roots, has been shown as a potent anti-cancer agent with possible effects on cancer cells through various routes. E. coli expressing β-glucuronidase can selectively colonize in solid tumors and convert glucuronide compounds to cytotoxic agents specifically at the tumor site. In the present study,for the first time, we examined the anticancer effects of a combination of E. coli DH5α bacteria and various concentrations of GL on CT26 colon carcinoma cells. The IC50 values of combination for bacteria and GL and also GL alone were determined as 92.6 µM and 1,425 µM, respectively. Our data indicated that simultaneous use of these two therapeutic agents has a much stronger inhibitory effect on the growth of CT26 colon cancer cells than treatment with GL alone.In the next steps, the results will be confirmed in animal studies.

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