- In a new study, microbes normally found in the mouth were discovered in about one-half of examined colorectal tumors well as in stool samples of many people with colorectal cancer.
- Researchers reported that the microbes traveled from the mouth to the colon, going through the stomach and remaining intact when exposed to stomach acid.
- The scientists hope this discovery can lead to new treatment options for people with colorectal cancer.
Researchers have discovered a specific microbe typically found in the mouth in about one-half of cases of colorectal cancer.
In their new
The scientists at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle set out to discover how microbes typically found in the mouth could travel to the lower gut, withstanding stomach acids, and then grow within colorectal tumors.
The researchers examined 200 cases of colorectal cancer. They reported that about half of the cancers contained the microbe. They also found the microbe in many stool samples taken from people with the cancer.
The microbes drive cancer progression and can lead to poorer outcomes.
At first, the researchers said they believed the predominant bacterium in colorectal cancers came from a single subspecies.
However, after studying them, they said they found two distinct types. Only one of the groups spurred growth in the tumors.
“We’ve consistently seen that patients with colorectal tumors containing Fusobacterium nucleatum have poor survival and poorer prognosis compared with patients without the microbe,” Susan Bullman, PhD, a cancer microbiome researcher at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and co-corresponding study author, said in a press release. “Now, we’re finding that a specific subtype of this microbe is responsible for tumor growth. It suggests therapeutics and screening that target this subgroup within the microbiota would help people…
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