As of: January 29, 2024, 10:17 a.m
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The use of intestinal bacteria is becoming increasingly important in cancer research.
Scientists have already achieved astonishing results in their first experiments.
Not so long ago, a cancer diagnosis was almost a death sentence.
Fortunately, enormous progress has been made in treating the disease over the past few decades.
Malignant tumors such as colon cancer are often detected earlier these days and can be successfully treated using effective therapy methods.
However, cancer is still fatal in many cases.
And ultimately successful treatment of the disease is often associated with suffering that can sometimes last for years.
Surgical interventions, chemotherapy and radiation place an incredibly high burden on the human body, from which patients have to recover from a long healing process.
However, new findings in cancer research give hope that less strenuous therapies will be used on a large scale in the future.
In particular, the importance of the intestinal flora and its many different bacterial strains is increasingly becoming the focus of scientists.
The human intestinal flora: unique like a fingerprint
Researchers are investigating the influence of intestinal flora on cancer therapy (symbolic image) © IMAGO
The importance of the intestines for our health cannot actually be overestimated.
It contains millions of beneficial bacteria that not only support our digestion, but also ensure a functioning immune system.
The structure of the intestinal flora is unique for each person - similar to a fingerprint.
While some people carry a particularly large number of “good” bacteria, others only have a small number of them available for their body’s defense system.
Meanwhile, drugs such as antibiotics not only kill the “bad” bacteria, but unfortunately also their useful relatives.
This can lead to a devastating imbalance in the intestinal flora, which in turn significantly limits the function of our immune system.
In order to successfully combat diseases, a healthy intestine is an important prerequisite.
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Certain gut bacteria are associated with curing cancer
In the past, scientists have found that certain strains of bacteria in the intestines are particularly helpful in fighting cancer.
Researchers at the University of Chicago, for example, conducted a study with mice suffering from skin cancer.
The animals that responded well to the cancer treatment all had a particular strain of bacteria in their intestines.
This bacterium was not found in the intestines of the mice in which the therapy method was less effective.
When the researchers transplanted the corresponding bacteria into the difficult-to-treat rodents, their health improved significantly and the skin cancer could be successfully combated.
The scientists concluded that the transplantation of useful intestinal bacteria could possibly also be successful in cancer therapy in humans.
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How treatment with intestinal bacteria works in humans in practice
A cancer center in New York successfully carried out human studies several years ago.
Patients scheduled for bone marrow transplants froze their feces before the procedure and subsequent antibiotic treatment.
The stool samples were later thawed and rinsed several times into the intestines of each test subject.
The researchers hoped that the beneficial bacteria that had previously been killed by the strong drugs could be reintroduced to the intestinal flora in this way.
The experiment was successful and the New York scientists found that the bacterial cultures important for the immune system had settled again in the test subjects' intestines.
Studies at other institutes later achieved similar success in the use of such fecal transplants.
Cancer therapy of the future: This is what the scientific findings mean
The results of the various studies have since led to the creation of a separate research area, so-called immuno-oncomicrobiology.
It examines the extent to which certain bacterial strains fight harmful cancer cells from the inside out, so to speak.
Such treatments could not only increase the success rate of previous therapies, but could possibly even partially replace them in the long term.
It would undoubtedly be a huge success for cancer research to use the simple colonization of beneficial intestinal bacteria against malignant tumors instead of debilitating chemotherapy and broad-spectrum antibiotics.
In the future, it will not only be the transplantation of one's own stool samples that will be discussed.
Similar to the study with mice from Chicago, patients whose intestinal flora is not sufficiently armed against cancer cells could receive bacterial strains from the feces of healthy people.
However, the production and use of such bacterial strains is quite complex and is still in its early stages.
Scientists hope that within a decade, the bacteria in question could possibly be replaced by corresponding preparations, so-called probiotics.
This article only contains general information on the respective health topic and is therefore not intended for self-diagnosis, treatment or medication. It in no way replaces a visit to the doctor. Our editorial team is not allowed to answer individual questions about medical conditions.