Science has many times proven a link between the bacteria in your gut and your odds of both getting and surviving cancer. Now, a new study has revealed a surprising truth behind cancerous tumors that could hold the key to cancer care in the future — and yes, once again, it all comes down to bacteria.
Every second of the day, your body is absolutely teeming with bacteria… some good and some bad. Some of these bacteria protect you from issues like diabetes and irritable bowel syndrome, while others can set up dangerous infections or lead to chronic health conditions.
And researchers have long known that tumors in certain areas of your body (like your gut) harbor bacteria. Yup, there aren’t just cancerous cells inside those tumors but also large colonies of bacteria and that would make sense when you consider the fact that your gut is home to a complex ecosystem of bacteria.
However, scientists didn’t know much about the relationship between your body’s bacteria and tumors in other areas of your body — until now.
The bacterial colonies of tumors
Now, research recently reported in Science has revealed that a wide range of cancers, including those of the breast, lungs, bones and brain, have their own bacterial communities within tumor cells. And even more importantly, those bacterial communities seem to be unique to each cancer type.
In other words, while breast cancer tumors are made up of their own specific types of bacteria, the community makeup inside lung tumors is markedly different.
To top it off, the researchers were also able to prove that the same bacteria found inside the tumors were also found inside cancer patients’ own immune cells.
Related: The surprising reason yogurt lowers breast cancer risk
Why is this important?
Well, according to the team of scientists responsible for the discovery, these results bring up the real possibility that tumor bacteria could have an effect on patients’ responses to certain cancer therapies.
Basically, if you end up with cancer, the bacterial makeup inside your tumor and immune cells could tell your doctor how good your chances are of responding to immunotherapy and your chances of surviving cancer.
Extensive evidence
And as we said, this isn’t the first time scientists have linked bacteria to response to treatment, and therefore cancer survival.
In fact, a 2017 study of patients with advanced melanoma found that patients who responded well to immunotherapy drugs generally had a gut microbiome that was distinct from that of patients who did not respond.
The scientists in this latest study believe that the gut microbiome could also be behind their own findings.
The key question they say is where are those tumor bacteria coming from?
And one possibility is that bacteria from the gut can “translocate” and find their way into tumor cells — a possibility additional recent research has also suggested by finding that bacteria can travel from the gut to tumors.
Putting it all together
This means that when you put all of the recent scientific studies together, you’re left with some very positive information.
First, in the future, oncologists could potentially be able to test the bacteria in a person’s tumor to determine what type of cancer therapy is right for them.
And second — and probably most importantly for cancer prevention — is the fact that if gut bacteria could be behind tumor development, keeping a healthy microbiome could help ward off cancer development.
That means reaching for probiotic-rich food and drinks like:
- Yogurt
- Sauerkraut
- Kombucha
- Tempeh
- Kefir
Remember, when upping your probiotic intake, fermented foods are your best friends. Here’s a quick crash course on finding the best probiotics and why fermentation makes all the difference you won’t want to miss.
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Sources:
Gut Microbes, Diet, and Cancer — PubMed Central
Cancer and the gut microbiota: An unexpected link — PubMed Central
Gut microbes could be used to predict likelihood of developing cancer — Medical Express
How your gut bacteria may protect you from cancer — Medical New Today
The gut microbiome and irritable bowel syndrome — PubMed Central
Impacts of Gut Bacteria on Human Health and Diseases — PubMed Central