According to the American Cancer Society, pancreatic cancer will kill over 50,000 people in the U.S. this year. Although pancreatic cancer only accounts for 8 percent of all cancer deaths, the global death rate for this type of cancer is expected to double over the next 40 years. These troubling statistics are underscored by the fact that pancreatic cancer is a challenging case in cancer medicine because of its difficult diagnosis and lack of effective treatment options.
A new study, published in Gut Pathogens, suggests that the latest breakthrough in early cancer detection and treatment may have been inside us all along: our gut microbiome.
An international team of researchers has discovered that the bacteria that appear, or disappear, from our gut microbiome may hold the key to improving diagnosis rates for one of the deadliest types of cancer and could even be used to develop new treatments.
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How Can Our Gut Detect Cancer Early?
From birth, we all have a unique gut microbiome. This mini-ecosystem is located mainly within our large intestine and is home to trillions of microscopic organisms, including more than a thousand types of bacteria.
In this new study, researchers focused on these microscopic organisms and analyzed the gut microbiomes of both pancreatic cancer patients and healthy adults. Over 180 people participated in the study from two main geographic areas — Iran and Finland.
Researchers found that pancreatic cancer patients had the same type of gut microbiome present, no matter their geographic location or ethnic background. For the cancer patients, their gut showed a lower amount of beneficial bacteria and a higher amount of facultative pathogens.
Facultative pathogens are a type of bacteria that can survive in both oxygen-rich and oxygen-poor environments. They often cause a disruption of the gut microbiome and are seen in people with life-threatening illnesses.
These results are promising and suggest that screening for the presence or absence of specific gut microbes could be the next step in non-invasive cancer detection. This possibility is especially important for pancreatic cancer, which currently does not have an early detection screening test and is often only identified at advanced stages.
Using Probiotics As Cancer Treatment
When it came to beneficial bacteria, those diagnosed with pancreatic cancer showed a notable decrease in the bacteria class known as Clostridia. This class of bacteria is beneficial to our gut in many ways, including helping to reduce inflammation, increase intestinal strength, and positively influence our immune responses.
The connection between Clostridia and cancer has been previously explored, with these beneficial bacteria increasing our bodies’ immune response to tumors.
“The findings on beneficial Clostridia are interesting because it has been shown earlier than ordinary Clostridiales populations effectively mediate anti-canceric immune reactions against solid tumors,” said Satu Pekkala, senior lecturer from the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences at the University of Jyväskylä, in a press release.
This new research on our gut microbiomes suggests that Clostridia could be used in even more innovative ways to treat cancer. There is a possibility that beneficial bacteria probiotics could be used alongside traditional chemotherapy medicine to create a more effective and targeted treatment for the notoriously difficult pancreatic cancer.
Scientists working on this study have also created a statistical model based on what they observed in the analyzed gut microbiomes. This model could be used in the future to predict pancreatic cancer and give those diagnosed with this aggressive disease a chance at earlier treatment and a longer life.
This article is not offering medical advice and should be used for informational purposes only.
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Article Sources
Our writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:
American Cancer Society. Key Statistics for Pancreatic Cancer
Springer Nature. Fecal profiling reveals a common microbial signature for pancreatic cancer in Finnish and Iranian cohorts
As the marketing coordinator at Discover Magazine, Stephanie Edwards interacts with readers across Discover's social media channels and writes digital content. Offline, she is a contract lecturer in English & Cultural Studies at Lakehead University, teaching courses on everything from professional communication to Taylor Swift, and received her graduate degrees in the same department from McMaster University. You can find more of her science writing in Lab Manager and her short fiction in anthologies and literary magazine across the horror genre.
