Bacteria and cancer: cause, coincidence or cure? A review
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BioMed Central
Open Access
Review
Bacteria and cancer: cause, coincidence or cure? A review DL Mager* Address: The Forsyth Institute, 140 The Fenway, Boston, MA, USA Email: DL Mager* - [email protected] * Corresponding author
Published: 28 March 2006 Journal of Translational Medicine 2006, 4:14
doi:10.1186/1479-5876-4-14
Received: 19 January 2006 Accepted: 28 March 2006
This article is available from: http://www.translational-medicine.com/content/4/1/14 © 2006 Mager; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract Research has found that certain bacteria are associated with human cancers. Their role, however, is still unclear. Convincing evidence links some species to carcinogenesis while others appear promising in the diagnosis, prevention or treatment of cancers. The complex relationship between bacteria and humans is demonstrated by Helicobacter pylori and Salmonella typhi infections. Research has shown that H. pylori can cause gastric cancer or MALT lymphoma in some individuals. In contrast, exposure to H. pylori appears to reduce the risk of esophageal cancer in others. Salmonella typhi infection has been associated with the development of gallbladder cancer; however S. typhi is a promising carrier of therapeutic agents for melanoma, colon and bladder cancers. Thus bacterial species and their roles in particular cancers appear to differ among different individuals. Many species, however, share an important characteristic: highly site-specific colonization. This critical factor may lead to the development of non-invasive diagnostic tests, innovative treatments and cancer vaccines.
Introduction An overwhelming body of evidence has determined that relationships among certain bacteria and cancers exist. The bacterial mechanisms involved are as yet unclear. These gaps in knowledge make it impossible to state the exact progression of events by which specific bacteria may cause, colonize or cure cancer. Therefore, many questions remain. For example, why do infections that are wide spread appear to cause cancer in only a minority of individuals? Do certain infective agents initiate or promote cancer or does an early undetected cancer facilitate the acquisition of the infection? Can the exposure to or colonization of specific bacteria prevent or treat certain cancers? Can the highly site specific colonization of certain bacteria for a tumor be clinically useful in the diagnosis of cancer or delivery of a therapeutic agent?
The scope of this review is broad therefore a wide range of reports is presented. Recent findings that have found associations between certain bacterial infections and tumor development will be discussed as well as genetic factors that may predispose individuals to "cancer- causing" infections. Mechanisms thought to be involved wit
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