Common mouth bacteria found to ‘melt’ head and neck cancers in ‘surprising’ discovery

Scientists have discovered that a common type of bacteria can “dissolve” certain cancers.

The researchers found that Fusobacterium Bacteria are generally This bacteria, found in the mouth, appears to have the power to kill certain cancers.

Head and Cervical cancer The new study also found that patients found to have the bacteria in their cancer cells had “much better outcomes.”

The exact biological mechanism behind this association has been intensely investigated by researchers from Guy’s and St Thomas’ University and King’s College London since it was first discovered.

Their new study, conducted in collaboration with an international team of researchers, used a variety of methods to study this association.

The scientists used modelling to identify which bacteria were worth investigating further.

The team then studied the effects of the bacteria on cancer cells in the laboratory and also analyzed data from 155 patients with head and neck cancer whose tumours had been submitted to the Cancer Genome Atlas database.

Previous studies have shown that Fusobacterium Colon cancer progression.

In lab studies, researchers put large amounts of the bacteria in petri dishes and left them there for a few days. When they returned to test the bacteria’s effect on cancer, they found that the cancer had all but disappeared.

The researchers found that after infection with Fusobacterium, the number of viable cancer cells in head and neck cancer cells was reduced by 70 to 99 percent.

In addition, analysis of patient data revealed that patients whose cancer cells contained Fusobacterium had a higher survival rate than those whose cancer cells did not. Detection of Fusobacterium in head and neck cancer patients reduced the risk of death by 65% ​​compared to patients whose cancer cells contained Fusobacterium.

The researchers hope that this discovery will aid in the treatment of patients with head and neck cancers, including cancers of the mouth, throat, larynx, nose, and paranasal sinuses.

Experts said they hoped the discovery could lead to new treatments in the future, as there have been few advances in head and neck cancer treatment over the past 20 years.

“Essentially, we found that when these bacteria are found in patients with head and neck cancer, they have a much better outcome, and we also found that in cell cultures the bacteria have the ability to kill cancer,” lead study author Dr Miguel Reis Ferreira told the PA news agency.

“What we’ve found is that these little bugs are doing something inside the cancer that’s giving it a better outcome, so we’re exploring the mechanisms behind that now, and that should be the subject of a new paper in the very near future.”

Dr Reis Ferreira, head and neck cancer specialist at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital and senior clinical lecturer at King’s College London, added: “This study shows that these bacteria have a more complex role in relation to cancer than previously known – they essentially dissolve head and neck cancer cells. However, this finding needs to be balanced with the known role of these bacteria in worsening cancers such as bowel cancer.”

The scientists published a paper about their findings in the journal Cancer Communications, explaining that Fusobacterium is “toxic” to head and neck cancer and that its presence “may determine a better prognosis.”

“Fusobacterium detectability was associated with improved both overall and disease-specific survival,” the authors wrote.

Barbara Kasumu, executive director of Guy’s Cancer Charity, which funded the research, said: “We are proud to support the groundbreaking research carried out by Miguel and Anjali, which aims to improve our understanding of head and neck cancer and develop more compassionate and effective treatments.”