Inflammation Has Help In Increasing Cancer Risk

A study published in the journal Science sheds additional light on what most in the medical field have known for years: Gut inflammation may put you at risk for cancer. But the findings show that inflammation also disrupts the microbial communities inhabiting your digestive tract, allowing pathogens to further increase your cancer risk.

In a series of experiments on lab animals, researchers found that gut inflammation made it easier for harmful bacteria to invade the gut’s established probiotic microbial community and establish a strong foothold. Among the bacteria invading disturbed intestinal ecosystems in increasing numbers were E. coli.

In their lab experiments, researchers discovered that tumor formation was actually promoted by the presence ofE. coli. The increase in cancer seemed to be linked to particular parts of the E. Coli genes. But when regions of the E. coli genome known to be involved in DNA damage were removed, the ability of the E. coli to cause tumors substantially decreased.

The researchers noted that the lab results on mice may have implications for human health. They also found anE. coli variant with the suspect genes in high percentages of people with colorectal cancer and irritable bowel disease.

“These are exciting results because they suggest there may be a direct link between changes in the gut microbiome and the progression from inflammation to cancer,” says Anthony Fodor, associate professor of bioinformatics at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, a co-author of the study and a member of the National Institute of Health’s Human Microbiome Project Consortium. “If we can understand the pathways by which pathogens damage host cells within the context of host inflammation, we may be able to formulate a personalized approach to cancer prevention in which particular pathogenic taxa or genes are targeted in vulnerable human sub-populations.”