A recent study found that common intestinal bacteria promote the growth of tumors in prostate cancer patients and allow them to avoid the effects of treatment.

Prostate cancer is usually treated with hormone therapy, which works by blocking male hormones, called androgens. But a team of scientists has found that low androgen levels can lead to the proliferation of intestinal bacteria, which can “take over” hormone production.

The study, led by the Cancer Research Institute in London, identified ‘germ fingerprints’ that could help identify patients who resist treatment.

The team recommended that these patients benefit from strategies for dealing with their intestinal microbiota.

For example, men may undergo defecation surgery or researchers may make a yogurt drink rich in beneficial bacteria.

A team of scientists from the London Institute of Cancer Research London, the Research Institute of Oncology in Belinsona, Switzerland, and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology used mice and patients to study the role of intestinal bacteria in prostate growth and development. Cancer.

Intestinal bacteria are a part of our microbiome, a group of microorganisms that normally live in the body and are generally valuable to humans by aiding digestion. However, cancer and other diseases can destroy this beneficial balance, for example, by promoting the proliferation of intestinal bacteria and by promoting the release of toxins or other molecules that affect cancer cells.

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“Our findings show that intestinal bacteria stimulate the production of androgen hormones by intestinal bacteria to initiate hormone therapy for prostate cancer,” explained Johann de Bono, the study’s lead author and experimental oncology professor. This androgen prevents prostate cancer from growing and causes resistance to hormone therapy, which worsens the survival effects in men.

Scientists have found that eliminating intestinal bacteria in mice with prostate cancer reduces tumor growth and delays the onset of hormone resistance.

They also found that the transfer of feces from mice with anti-hormone prostate cancer to mice with low androgen levels promoted tumor growth.

Scientists have shown that intestinal bacteria in mice can produce androgen hormones from precursor molecules.

Professor de Bono noted during the study that this finding could lead to new therapies that deal with intestinal bacteria to work for the benefit of patients.

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It can take the form of another person infected with intestinal bacteria, such as a yogurt drink with live bacteria that do not produce cancer-causing hormones, or the excretion of feces into a patient’s digestive system.

Professor Christian Helen, chief executive of the Cancer Research Institute, London, said: “The impact of intestinal microbiology on cancer is an exciting new area of ​​science in which we are beginning to learn.

He added: “The good bacteria in the gut can play a key role in keeping us healthy, interfere with hormone metabolism in men with prostate cancer, and help develop new treatment strategies. We hope so. “

Source: Daily Mail

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