A bacteria commonly found in the mouth appears to ‘melt’ and destroy certain cancers, scientists have discovered.
Researchers said they were ‘surprised’ to find that patients with head and neck cancer who had Fusobacterium within their tumours had ‘much better outcomes’.
The exact biological mechanisms behind the link are being keenly studied by researchers at Guy’s and St Thomas’ and King’s College London.
In laboratory studies, the team put quantities of the bacteria in Petri dishes with cancer cells and left them for a couple of days.
When they returned to inspect the effect of the bacteria on the cancer, they found there was a 70 to 99 per cent reduction in the number of viable head and neck cancer cells after being infected with Fusobacterium.
Symptoms of the 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 the neck are other key signs
![Researchers said they were ‘surprised’ to find that patients with head and neck cancer who had Fusobacterium within their tumours had ‘much better outcomes’](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/07/26/13/87806409-0-image-a-2_1721998040115.jpg)
Researchers said they were ‘surprised’ to find that patients with head and neck cancer who had Fusobacterium within their tumours had ‘much better outcomes’
Further analysis of 155 patients with head and neck cancer also showed those with the bacteria within their tumours had better survival odds compared to those who didn’t, with a 65 per cent reduction in risk of death.
Researchers hope the finding could help guide treatment for patients with head and neck cancer – which include cancers of the mouth, throat, voice box, nose and sinuses.
Experts said that there have been few therapeutic advances in head and neck cancer in the last 20 years so it’s hoped the finding could potentially lead to new treatments in the future.
‘In essence, we found that when you find these bacteria within head and neck cancers, they have much better outcomes, senior author Dr Miguel Reis Ferreira said.
‘The other thing that we found is that, in cell cultures, this bacterium is capable of killing cancer.
‘This research reveals that these bacteria play a more complex role than previously known in their relationship with cancer – that they essentially melt head and neck cancer cells.
‘What it could mean is that we can use these bacteria to better predict which patients are more likely to have good or worse outcomes, and based on that, we could change their treatment so make it kinder in the patients that have better outcomes, or make it more intense in patients that are more likely to have their cancers come back.’
Dr Anjali Chander, senior clinical research fellow at King’s College London and lead author, added: ‘Our findings are remarkable and very surprising.’
The team have published a paper on the finding in the journal Cancer Communications, which describes how Fusobacterium is ‘toxic’ for head and neck cancer and how its presence ‘may determine a better prognosis’.
‘Fusobacterium detectability was associated with both better overall survival and better disease-specific survival,’ the authors wrote.
Almost 12,800 people in the UK will be diagnosed with a head and neck cancer in the UK each year, with just over 4,000 people dying from the disease per annum.
In the US theses figures rise to 71,000 diagnoses and just over 16,000 deaths.
Between 59 to 19 per cent of head and neck cancer patients will survive 10 years after their diagnosis depending on the specific subtype of the disease.
Treatment for head and neck cancers typically consists of a combination of chemotherapy, radiotherapy or surgery though this can vary for each patient.
Smoking is considered one of the biggest risk factors for head and neck cancers, accounting for up to 64 per cent of some specific forms of the disease in the UK, according to charity Cancer Research UK.