The bacteria known as Fusobacterium nucleatum live in the human mouth and are rarely found elsewhere. But in cases of cancer of the colon or the rectum, the bacteria are found in tumours in the gut, where they help cancer cells escape from the immune system and spread to other parts of the body.
In a new study, a group of researchers from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in the U.S. has identified a distinct subtype of the bacterium that’s found in relatively greater quantities in colorectal cancer (CRC) tumours.
CRC is the seventh most common type of cancer in India, where the number of cases rose by 20% from 2004 to 2014. Worldwide, the overall CRC incidence has declined but, experts wrote in the journal Science last year, the incidence of age-adjusted early-onset CRC “has risen at an alarming rate of 2-4% in many countries, with even sharper increases in individuals younger than 30 years.”
