Discovery of bacteria linked to prostate cancer hailed as potential breakthrough

A potential revolution for the prevention and treatment of the most deadly form of the disease has been hailed by scientists as a result of the discovery of a new type ofbacteria.

More than 600 men with and without prostrate cancer were studied by researchers at the University of East Anglia and they found five species ofbacteria associated with rapid progression of the disease.

The study doesn't prove that the bacteria cause cancer, but if work is done to confirm their role, researchers can develop tests to identify men most at risk and potentially find antibiotics to prevent the cancer from claiming thousands of lives each year.

This discovery has the potential to really change treatment for men, according to the co-funded research.

The scientists describe how their genetic investigations found five species ofbacteria, three of which were new to science, that were associated with advanced prostrate cancer. Men who had one or more of the species in their urine were 2.6 times more likely to see their early stage cancer progress to advanced disease than men who did not.

Colin Cooper is a professor of cancer genetics at the University of East Anglia. Men with more aggressive prostate cancer may have immune system deficiencies that allow certainbacteria to thrive. The researchers think the microbes are involved, just as Helicobacter pylori infections increase the risk of stomach cancer.

If you knew that a certain type ofbacteria was causing the cancer, you could try to remove it with an antibiotic, which would prevent the progression of the disease. He warned that this is not as straightforward as it sounds. He said that antibiotics don't get into the prostate very well and that you would need to choose an antibiotic that only kills certainbacteria.

In many cases, patients die from the disease rather than the cancer, which is the most common form of the disease in men. About 12,000 lives are lost to the more aggressive forms of prostrate cancer in the UK each year.

The Institute of Cancer Research in London has a cancer geneticist who works on the study.

Scientists have been able to piece together how the microbes might behave in the body with the help of genetic information. They have come up with a number of hypotheses about how the bugs could cause cancer.

We currently have no way of reliably identifying aggressive prostrate cancers, and this research could help make sure men get the right treatment for them.

If the team can demonstrate that the newly identifiedbacteria can cause aggressive prostate cancer, for the first time we may be able to prevent it. This breakthrough could save thousands of lives each year.