Scientists have discovered that a bacteria commonly found in the mouth can ‘melt down’ and destroy certain forms of cancer.
Researchers said they were “surprised” to find that patients with head and neck cancer who had Fusobacterium in their tumors had “much better outcomes.”
The precise biological mechanisms behind this link are currently being studied in depth by researchers from Guy’s and St Thomas’ and King’s College London.
In laboratory research, the team placed large amounts of bacteria in petri dishes containing cancer cells and left them for several days.
When they returned to examine the bacteria’s effect on the cancer, they found that the number of viable head and neck cancer cells had decreased by 70 to 99 percent after infection with Fusobacterium.
Symptoms of cancer can be hard to spot, according to the NHS. These include a sore throat, earache, difficulty swallowing and unexplained weight loss. Changes to your voice or experiencing a lump in your neck are other key signs
Researchers said they were ‘surprised’ to find that patients with head and neck cancer who had Fusobacterium in their tumors had ‘much better outcomes’
Further analysis of 155 patients with head and neck cancer also found that those who had the bacteria in their tumors had a better chance of survival than those who did not have the bacteria, with a 65 percent drop in risk of death.
Researchers hope the finding could help treat patients with head and neck cancers, including cancers of the mouth, throat, larynx, nose and sinuses.
According to experts, little progress has been made in the treatment of head and neck cancer in the past 20 years. Hopefully, this discovery can lead to new treatments in the future.
“Essentially, we found that when you find these bacteria in head and neck cancers, the outcomes are much better,” said lead researcher Dr. Miguel Reis Ferreira.
‘We also discovered that this bacterium can kill cancer in cell cultures.
‘This research shows that these bacteria play a more complex role than previously known in their relationship to cancer: they essentially melt cancer cells in the head and neck.
‘This could mean that we can use these bacteria to better predict which patients are more likely to have good or worse outcomes. Based on that, we can adjust the treatment, for example by making it milder for patients with better outcomes, or more intensive for patients whose cancer is likely to return.’
Dr Anjali Chander, senior clinical researcher at King’s College London and lead author, added: ‘Our findings are remarkable and very surprising.’
The team has published a paper on the finding in the journal Cancer Communications, describing how Fusobacterium is “toxic” to head and neck cancers and how its presence “may lead to a better prognosis.”
“Detectable Fusobacterium was associated with both better overall survival and better disease-specific survival,” the authors wrote.
In the UK, nearly 12,800 people are diagnosed with head and neck cancer each year, with just over 4,000 people dying from the disease each year.
In the US, these numbers rise to 71,000 diagnoses and just over 16,000 deaths.
Between 59 and 19 percent of patients with head and neck cancer survive 10 years after diagnosis, depending on the specific subtype of the disease.
Treatment for head and neck cancer usually consists of a combination of chemotherapy, radiotherapy or surgery, although this may vary from patient to patient.
According to the charity Cancer Research UK, smoking is considered one of the biggest risk factors for head and neck cancer, accounting for as many as 64 per cent of some forms of the disease in the UK.