Urine and tissues
So they studied urine and tissue samples from more than 600 men with and without prostate cancer, and then developed methods to detect whether certain bacteria were associated with aggressive prostate cancer. The authors of the study, published in the journal European Urology Oncology, found that indeed five specific types of bacteria were linked to the presence of higher grades of prostate cancer and faster progression to disease. agressive.
But before formally establishing a causal link between the presence of these bacteria and aggressive prostate cancer, several questions remain unanswered: “We do not yet know how people catch these bacteria, if they are the source of cancer or if a poor immune response allows their growth”, confirms Dr Rachel Hurst, first author of this work and associate researcher from the Norwich Medical School of the University of East Anglia, in a press release.
Further research is therefore needed to establish whether these bacteria are the cause or a consequence of these cancers. “But we hope that our findings and future work could lead to new therapeutic options, which could slow or prevent the development of aggressive prostate cancer,” adds the researcher. “Our work could also lay the groundwork for new tests that use the bacteria to predict the most effective treatment for each man’s cancer.”
Note: When diagnosed early, prostate cancer has a good prognosis “with a 5-year survival rate of more than 90%”, indicates the National Cancer Institute.
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