Research into cancer has identified genetic mutations and viral causes, but studies of potential cancer bacteria also suggest bacterial origins. Helicobacter pylori in the stomach and Fusobacterium in colon cancer tissue are examples. Vaccines are available for some viral causes, such as HPV. The mechanisms by which microbes cause tumors are still unknown.
Research into the causes of cancer has yielded insight into genetic mutations along with viral causes, but studies of potential cancer bacteria also point to some bacterial origins of the disease. One example is the presence of Helicobacter pylori in the stomach, which is known to cause stomach ulcers but also appears to increase the likelihood of developing stomach cancer. Scientists looking into the potential connections of bacteria and cancer find hints of a possible link when unexpected numbers of a particular bacterium show up in cancerous tissue.
The viral causes of tumors are commonly known and vaccines are even available for some. An example of a virus that can be tackled with a vaccine is human papillomavirus (HPV), which is transmitted sexually and can cause cervical cancer later in life. The hepatitis C virus is also known to cause cirrhosis and liver cancer. Cancer bacteria, however, are in an entirely different group of organisms than viruses, since bacteria are cells and viruses are simply strands of genetic material wrapped in protective proteins.
Genetic mutations are a significant area of interest in cancer research, where many types of cancers have been associated with specific mutations in the affected person’s genes. Many mechanisms by which mutations influence the development of tumors have also been elucidated, but in the case of tumors caused, or potentially caused, by microbes such as viruses and bacteria, these mechanisms are, as of 2012, still unknown. Sometimes the only reason a cancerous bacterium is proposed is because researchers have noticed its presence in cancerous tissue, where it was not expected to be found.
For example, in 2011, researchers at the British Columbia Cancer Agency tested colon cancer tissue and found that a certain type of bacteria, called Fusobacterium, was present in the cancer at much higher levels than in other parts of the body. and that the bacteria were also more likely to occur in tumors that had spread. While this doesn’t prove that the bacteria caused the cancer in the first place, it does provide a starting point for further investigations into the interaction between bacteria and cancer cells. Helicobacter pylori, which is associated with stomach cancer, is thought to help trigger the cancer through the constant irritation and cell turnover of the original ulcers it causes. Another possible type of cancer bacteria through indirect, or even direct, mechanisms is Chlamydia trachomatis, a sexually transmitted disease that appears to work in conjunction with HPV to produce cervical cancer.
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