Scots scientists to study link between gut bacteria and cancer

Our intestines are home to a diverse range of microbiotic life that helps us digest food and stay healthy. However, if that balance is disrupted it can lead to negative effects on our health.

How this mix of fungi, bacteria and viruses, known as the gut microbiome, behaves when cancer is present is a growing area of cancer research. This new study aims to map the gut microbiome and establish how its metabolic processes affect cancer cells and treatments.

Bowel cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death in the UK* with around 16,800 deaths in the UK every year. Finding new ways to tackle the disease is vital.**

Scotland is disproportionately affected by the disease with around 4,000 people being diagnosed each year.

Project leader Dr Johan Vande Voorde, of the University of Glasgow, said: “Our gut is home to a collective of micro-organisms including fungi, bacteria and viruses held in a delicate balance. Our study will examine differences in this environment when a tumour is present.

“The gut microbiome is an important source of nutrients which can be different in cancer patients. We want to compare the differences between healthy and cancer patients and see what impacts this may have on the disease.”

How we convert food into energy and build and repair our bodies are just some the chemical processes that take place inside us. These metabolic processes are also needed by cancer cells as they seek the nutrients they need to divide and replicate.

Microbial metabolism is emerging as a significant determinant of clinical outcome in cancer. The team aim to identify the chemicals – metabolites – used by cancer cells to see if there are vulnerabilities or other ways to stop cancer cells in their tracks and make therapies more efficient.

The study comes at a time when increasing numbers of people in the UK are being diagnosed with cancers at an earlier age than previously.

Executive Director of Research and Innovation at Cancer Research UK, Iain Foulkes, said: “Evidence suggests that more adults under 50 may be getting cancer than ever before, particularly in cancers of the digestive system.

“We are delighted to fund projects such as this which will hopefully shed light on bowel cancer and help us find new ways to tackle this disease.”

The researchers hope the study can help identify vulnerabilities in bowel cancer and potentially new biomarkers which could help identify cancer earlier.