And the researchers developed methods to find the bacteria associated with aggressive prostate cancers.
“To detect the bacteria, we used many different approaches, including full genome sequencing of the tissue samples, a method that is increasingly used as we move into an era of genomic medicine,” said Rachel Hurst, also of the research group. Norwich Medical School of UEA and the lead author of the study.
“When tumor samples are sequenced, the DNA of the pathogens present is also sequenced, which makes it possible to detect bacteria,” she said. “We found several types of bacteria that were associated with aggressive prostate cancer, and some of them are new species that have never been found before.” In total, five types of bacteria were involved, three of which are new.
Two of the three new bacterial species the team found were named after the study’s sponsors: Porphyromonas bobiito The Bob Champion Cancer Trust, and Varibaculum prostatecancerukiato Prostate Cancer UK.
Among the array of bacteria the team found are Anaerococcus, Peptoniphilus, Porphyromonas, Fenollaria in Fusobacterium† These are all anaerobic bacteria, meaning they like to grow without oxygen being present.
“If one of those specific anaerobic bacteria was found in the patient’s samples, it was linked to the presence of a worse stage of prostate cancer and a faster progression to an aggressive disease,” Hurst said. “We have also identified potential biological mechanisms that may explain how these bacteria may be linked to cancer.”
Men who found one or more of those five bacteria in their urine, prostate or tumor tissue were 2.6 times more likely to develop their early stage of prostate cancer into advanced disease than men who had none of the bacteria found .