Antibiotics for Colon Cancer?
When pesky bacterial infections come a-calling,
it’s antibiotics to the rescue, providing relief from respiratory infections,
sinus infections and … colon cancers? You read right; findings from a new study have found that bacteria may be to blame for certain types of colon
cancer, and a round of antibiotics may hold the key to unlock future prevention
and treatment efforts.
Researchers from the Broad Institute and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute found that high levels of Fusobacteria were present in areas of the colon where cancerous tumors existed compared to other portions of the colon without cancer. Study leader Aleksandar Kostic, a doctoral candidate in biomedicine at Harvard Medical School, explained that while most of the common bacteria living in the colon is harmless, Fusobacteria was the most prevalent bacteria in patients with cancerous colon tumors, but only in areas where there were tumors, signaling the bacteria may trigger colon cancer. Fusobacteria has previously been found to cause dangerous inflammation if its growth is unchecked by other bacteria, triggering such conditions as appendicitis and inflammatory bowel disease.
In about 10 – 15 percent of the 95 people who participated in the study, more than half of the bacteria found in malignant tissue was Fusobacteria. Kostic said his results will need to be replicated in a larger study to confirm the association between Fusobacteria and colon cancer. He is currently conducting a study in mice to see if those fed Fusobacteria develop colon tumors at a higher rate than those who aren’t infected.
Findings Could Lead to Innovative Colon Cancer Treatments
If future studies do confirm that Fusobacteria triggers colon cancer, patients who test positive for Fusobacteria in the colon via a stool sample would receive an antibiotic to lower their risk of developing cancer. Antibiotics would also be tested to see if they shrink existing cancerous tumors.
Bacteria Previously Linked To Cancer
This isn’t the first time researchers have linked bacteria and cancer. Other bacteria-cancer associations include:
- The sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV), which triggers cervical cancer.
- The herpes virus, which causes the soft tissue cancer Kaposi’s sarcoma.
- The bacteria Heliobacter pylori (H pylori), which can create an environment conducive to gastric cancer and stomach lymphoma, as well as benign ulcers.