Deadly Food Poison Toxin Unleashes Colorectal Cancer Spread: Scientists Uncover Shocking Link
- A toxin found in one of the most common causes of foodborne illness accelerates the spread of colorectal cancer to other parts of the body.
- The bacteria, Campylobacter jejuni, is responsible for over 2 million cases of diarrheal-related illness each year in the United States.
- New research could pave the way for early detection and more aggressive treatments for patients at risk of metastatic colorectal cancer.
In a groundbreaking study, researchers at the UF Health Cancer Center in the United States have made a startling discovery about the link between a common food poison toxin and the spread of colorectal cancer. The toxin, produced by the bacterium Campylobacter jejuni (C. jejuni), has been found to accelerate the spread of colorectal tumours to other parts of the body, significantly reducing the chances of survival for patients.
“This work contributes to a new understanding of how bacterial toxins promote colorectal metastasis, opening novel screening approaches to predict at-risk patients,” said Christian Jobin, Ph.D., the Gatorade Distinguished Professor of Medicine in the UF College of Medicine, who oversaw the research.
The study, published in the journal Cell Host & Microbe, found that the presence of C. jejuni in tumour tissues was significantly higher in patients who developed metastasis compared to those who did not. The researchers also found that patients with detectable levels of the bacteria had a poorer outlook than those without.
Using laboratory mice and 3D colorectal cancer tumour models made from patient cells, the team showed how the bacterial toxin promoted the spread of cancer by leading to an increased expression of several types of enzymes and activating a type of signalling in cancer cells associated with metastasis.
“When bacteria that produce CDT move to tumours outside the gut, it appears to accelerate the spread of these tumours,” Jobin said. The researchers also recovered live bacteria from tumours outside the gut, suggesting that the tumours created an environment that was friendly to their growth.
The study’s findings could have significant implications for the development of new therapies and early detection tools for metastatic colorectal cancer. Several clinical trials are already testing drugs that aim to interfere with the cell-signaling pathway activated by the bacterial toxin.
Raad Gharaibeh, Ph.D., a research associate professor in the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition in the UF College of Medicine and director of microbial genomics at the UF Health Cancer Center, was also a co-author of the study.