04/01/2022
A common bacterium which normally lives harmlessly in the gums appears to have a role in the spread of some cancers of the colon, esophagus, pancreas and possibly breast. Laboratory studies and evidence in patients indicate that the microbe can travel through the blood and infect tumor cells by attaching to a sugar molecule on their surface. There it provokes a range of signals and immune responses known to cause tumor cells to migrate.
If further confirmed, the work with this bacterium could add to a growing understanding of how the oral microbiome influences cancer progression
In a healthy human mouth, this bacterium, F. nucleatum, is a law-abiding member of the microbial community. With poor dental hygiene, uncontrolled diabetes and other conditions, however, it can go rogue and cause periodontitis, tonsillitis, appendicitis and even preterm labor.
A connection to colorectal cancer was first hinted at about nine years ago, when two research groups discovered that the bacterium's DNA was overrepresented in colon tumor tissue compared with normal tissue. Dozens of studies have since found that the infection in tumor cells is a sign of trouble: it is linked to a poorer prognosis in patients with pancreatic, esophageal or colorectal cancer; resistance to chemotherapy in the latter two groups; and metastasis in colorectal cancer, which is the world's third most common and second most deadly malignancy.
Is this bug merely a warning sign, or is it an active participant in cancer progression?
This year at least three studies of colon cancer, by separate teams, pointed to an ACTIVE role. “We reached the same conclusion through different pathways,” says biochemist Daniel Slade of Virginia Tech.
Slade and others have also demonstrated that the bacterium incites a kind of 🌪cytokine storm 🌪that is aimed at controlling the infection but that ultimately exacerbates the cancer.
“It's like throwing gas on an already lit fire,” Slade says.
This is another reason we cannot ignore the oral microbiome, and working with a functional dentist is essential for whole body health! ➡️See the Functional Dentist Directory on my website
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