A common infection can cause cancer

A new study suggests that a Closedtridioides difficile infection causes certain colorectal cancers

The study, recently published in the journal Cancer Discovery, may shed light on another problematic role for

"In recent years, the number of people under the age of 50 being diagnosed with colorectal cancer has risen alarmingly

Researchers in Sears' lab reported a few years ago that more than half of colorectal cancer patients have bacterial biofilms — dense colonies of bacteria on the surface of the colon — while only 10 to 15 percent of healthy people without tumors have biofilms

In separate work, the team found a sample of patients without biofilm, similarly increasing colorectal tumors

To determine which bacteria might cause tumors in mice, Sears and study co-authors, Dr.

They noted that C.

Other experiments led by co-author Nicholas Markham, assistant professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Frank Housseau, associate professor of oncology at Johns Hopkins University, and Ken Lau, Ph.

Cells exposed to this bacterium turn on on-on genes and turn off anti-cancer genes

The team of scientists say a toxin called TcdB produced by the bacteria appears to have caused much of this activity

Until now, only limited epidemiological data have linked Clostridium difficile to colorectal cancer in humans, but if further studies suggest that such a link exists, it could lead to screening for potential Clostridium difficile infection or previous infections as a risk factor for

"While the link between Clostridium difficile and colorectal cancer needs to be confirmed in prospective, longitudinal cohort studies, better strategies and treatments have been developed to reduce the risk of primary infection and recurrence of Clostridium difficile, both allowing patients to avoid the immediate consequences of severe diarrhea and potentially limiting the risk of colorectal cancer later in life," Drewes said

Reference: Human Colon Cancer –Derived Clostridioides difficile Strains Drive Colonic Tumorigenesis in Mice