Tumour bacteria could promote cancer, study finds

It is a well-known fact that cancer tissues carry communities of bacteria and fungi. A new study at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center has now hinted at the possibility that some of the bacteria may also be responsible for promoting cancer. In oral and colorectal tumors, the study finds, bacteria inside cancer cells boost production of proteins known to suppress immune responses, thereby helping cancer metastasize elsewhere in the body.?

The researchers used a technique called single cell sequencing to find that bacteria preferentially infect cancer epithelial cells that line the inside surface of organs and cells with dominant Fusobacterium and Treponema bacteria solely showed both immunosuppressive and cancer promoting traits.

This study is a small but key step towards exploring the tumor microbiome, and once it is known how microbes can cause tumor growth and spread could pave the way for more targeted therapies, as also the use of microbes as a diagnostic tool for early detection of cancer in blood samples.

Read more: