Colon cancer tumours harbour bacteria
Bacteria have been found in colon cancer tumours for the first time by scientists in British Columbia, but the role of the bacteria is a mystery.
In two studies published in Tuesday’s on-line issue of the journal Genome Research, scientists in Canada and the U.S. found genetic material from Fusobacterium were hundreds of times more common in 99 colorectal tumours than normal tissue.
If the bacteria are found to arrive after colorectal cancer develops then it could lead to a less invasive screening test, a scientist says. Jean-Paul Pelissier/Reuters “We were surprised by this result,” stated Rob Holt, a professor of molecular biology and biochemistry at Simon Fraser University. “Although Fusobacterium is a known infectious agent, it is rarely in the contents of a normal gut and until now hasn’t been associated with cancer.”
An estimated 15 per cent of cancers worldwide are known to be caused by infectious agents, the researchers noted. For example, cervical cancer can be caused by the human papillomavirus, and the hepatitis B and C viruses can cause liver cancer.
If researchers discover that the bacteria arrive after cancer develops then it could lead to a less invasive screening test for colon cancer, Holt said. But simply finding Fusobacteria in tumours doesn’t prove if the bacteria are actually causing the disease, the researchers cautioned.
Separately, Dr. Matthew Meyerson and his colleagues at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston found DNA from Fusobacteria was more common in colon cancer patients from the U.S., Vietnam and Spain than in normal colon cells.
“These findings reveal alterations in the colorectal cancer microbiota; however, the precise role of Fusobacteria in colorectal carcinoma pathogenesis requires further investigation,” Meyerson’s team concluded.
source : www.cbc.ca
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Submited at Wednesday, October 19th, 2011 at 9:00 am on Health by jessica
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