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According to a research team’s experiments, some genetic factors could be boosting the ability of Fusobacterium nucleatum bacteria to associate with cancers of the gut.
The team also showed that when mice were infected with this type of Fusobacterium, their intestines developed adenomas
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
Fusobacterium nucleatum
The bacteria known as Fusobacterium nucleatum live in the human mouth and are rarely found elsewhere.
Fusobacterium nucleatum is a Gram-negative, anaerobic oral bacterium, commensal to the human oral cavity, that plays a role in periodontal disease.
This organism is commonly recovered from different monocultured microbial and mixed infections in humans and animals.
In health and disease, it is a key component of periodontal plaque due to its abundance and its ability to coaggregate with other bacteria species in the oral cavity.
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.
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the seventh most common type of cancer in India, where the number of cases rose by 20% from 2004 to 2014.
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