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Researchers at the University of East Anglia (UEA) have identified five different types of urine bacteria which are linked to aggressive prostate cancer.
While it is not known if these bacteria are causative or just indicative of the cancer’s presence, it is hoped the findings could lead to treatments that target these bacteria and slow or prevent the development of the disease.
Dr Jeremy Clark, from UEA’s Norwich Medical School, said: “While prostate cancer is responsible for a large proportion of all male cancer deaths, it is more commonly a disease men die with rather than from.
“And little is known about what causes some prostate cancers to become more aggressive than others. We now have evidence that certain bacteria are involved in this and are part of the puzzle.”
Presence of the bacteria was linked with more rapid progression to aggressive disease
The researchers at UEA worked with scientists at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and other collaborators to analyse urine or tissue samples from more than 600 patients with or without prostate cancer.
In doing so, the researchers found five types of anaerobic bacteria (Anaerococcus, Peptoniphilus, Porphyromonas, Fenollaria and Fusobacterium) associated with aggressive prostate cancer, three of which are new types of bacteria never found before.
Patients who had one or more of these specific types of anaerobic bacteria in their urine were 2.6 times more likely to see their early stage cancer progress to advanced disease than men who did not.
The research could lay the foundations for new tests
Dr Rachel Hurst, first author of the study and also from UEA’s Norwich Medical School, said: “Among the things we don’t yet know is how people pick up these bacteria, whether they are causing the cancer, or whether a poor immune response permits the growth of the bacteria.
“But we hope that our findings and future work could lead to new treatment options, that could slow or prevent aggressive prostate cancer from developing. Our work could also lay the foundations for new tests that use bacteria to predict the most effective treatment for each man’s cancer.”
The researchers are now calling for further research to understand the relationship in more detail and discover whether the bacteria are causing the cancer or whether it is simply a helpful indicator.
If successful, Prof Daniel Brewer, from UEA’s Norwich Medical School said this research lead to the development of a “cheap and quick test that could guide treatment decisions.”