Infection by Salmonella enterica Promotes or Demotes Tumor Development

Abstract

Cancer is a disease that claims the lives of millions of people every year around the world. To date, multiple risk factors that may contribute to its development have been described. In recent years, a factor that has been associated to cancer development is the presence of bacterial infections that could contribute to its occurrence not only by favoring the inflammatory process, but also through the release of proteins that trigger tumorigenesis. One of the bacterial species that have recently generated interest due to its possible role in cancer development is Salmonella enterica. Nevertheless, for more than a decade, attenuated strains of Salmonella enterica have been proposed as a treatment for different neoplasms due to its bacterium tropism for the tumor microenvironment, its oncolytic activity and its ability to activate the innate and adaptive immune responses of the host. These two facets of Salmonella enterica are addressed in detail in this chapter, allowing us to understand its possible role in cancer development and its well-documented antitumor activity.