Researchers from Harvard University found evidence in a new study that colon cancer cells carry certain bacteria when they metastasize to other organs in the body. The results of the study were published in the journal Science, and the team described their possible association with bacteria and their cause of colon cancer.
Previous research has shown that bacteria and tumor cells are present in various types of cancer, which makes some people in the medical community wonder whether they are the real cause of tumor formation. A bacterium called Fusobacterium nucleatum has been shown to exist in colon cancer cells. In this new study, the researchers wanted to know whether the same bacteria can be found in colon cancer tumor cells when these cancer cells have metastasized to other parts of the body.
To find out, the researchers collected tissue samples from patients with colon cancer. In the course of the research, they found that in many cases, the same bacterial strain exists in the tumor. Even if colon cancer cells have metastasized, the most common metastatic site of colon cancer is the liver, but there is no evidence to show that the bacteria in colon cancer cells , Present in the liver.
The researchers were very interested in this discovery. The researchers implanted tumors in healthy mice, so they found that those tumors with bacteria began to grow. Next, the research team tested the possibility of using antibiotics capable of killing F. nucleatum to treat colon cancer mice. They found that doing so actually slowed the growth of the tumor.
This discovery allows researchers to find a new direction against colon cancer, and hopes that further research can prove the effectiveness and safety of this method.
