A research team led by scientists at the University of Waterloo, Ontario is developing a novel tool to treat cancer by engineering hungry bacteria to literally eat tumors from the inside out.

Key to the approach is a bacterium called Clostridium sporogenes, which is commonly found in soil and can only grow in environments with absolutely no oxygen.

The core of a solid, cancerous tumor is comprised of dead cells and is oxygen-free, making it an ideal breeding ground for the bacterium to multiply.

“Bacteria spores enter the tumor, finding an environment where there are lots of nutrients and no oxygen, which this organism prefers, and so it starts eating those nutrients and growing in size,” said Dr. Marc Aucoin, a chemical engineering professor at Waterloo. “So, we are now colonizing that central space, and the bacterium is essentially ridding the body of the tumor.”