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Scientists discover bacteria 'which causes colon cancer' Scientists have discovered a type of bacteria which they believe could be the cause of many cases of colon cancer. By Kate Devlin, Medical Correspondent Published: 8:00AM BST 24 Aug 2009 -- While it is still unknown whether the colon cancer related bacteria could be tackled by standard antibiotics, researchers are hopeful that the breakthrough could point the way to new treatments Photo: GETTY The breakthrough could point the way to vaccines or drugs to fight the disease, one of the most common forms of cancer in Britain. Researchers have hailed the discovery as like that of H. pylori, the bacteria which was found to trigger ulcers in the stomach. |
September 08, 2009 |
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While it is still unknown whether the colon cancer related bacteria could be tackled by standard antibiotics, researchers are hopeful that the breakthrough could point the way to new treatments Photo: GETTY
The breakthrough could point the way to vaccines or drugs to fight the disease, one of the most common forms of cancer in Britain.
Researchers have hailed the discovery as like that of H. pylori, the bacteria which was found to trigger ulcers in the stomach.
That discovery allowed for ulcers to be treated with antibiotics, freeing millions from misery.
While it is still unknown whether the colon cancer related bacteria could be tackled by standard antibiotics, researchers are hopeful that the breakthrough could point the way to new treatments.
The bacteria is widely known to cause diarrhoea in children and adults.
A previous study in Turkey suggested that it could be linked to the development of colon cancer.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore believe that they have uncovered how the bacteria could be a trigger for cancer.
Their research shows that strains of the common Bacteroides fragilis (ETBF) affect immune cells, encouraging them to allow inflammation of the tissue in the colon.
This inflammation appears to be a precursor to the growth of cancer cells.
Dr Cynthia Sears, an infectious disease expert at Johns Hopkins, said: ?This could be the H. pylori of colon cancer.?
Their findings, based on mice bred to carry mutations of a colon cancer-causing gene, are published in the journal Nature Medicine.
Dr Drew Pardoll, an immunologist at the university, said that in humans the infection ?produces a low-level inflammation that persists for a long time.
?If what we are seeing in mice holds true in humans, the chronic inflammation damages genetic material in the colon cells, allowing them to grow uncontrollably and develop into tumours earlier and more progressively than if they were not infected with ETBF,? he said.
Previous research shows that the ETBF microbe can be found in the gut of up to 20 to 35 per cent of children and adults and as many as 40 per cent of people with colon cancer.
The team believes that the microbes could interact with other bacteria native to the gut to drive the growth of the cancer.
They hope that their discovery could some day lead to vaccines and drugs which could neutralize the toxicity of the bacteria and its ability to cause inflammation.
More than 37,000 people are diagnosed with colon cancer every year in Britain.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/6069108/Scientists-discover-bacteria-which-causes-colon-cancer.html
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