Original story from Johns Hopkins Medicine (MD, USA). Study finds Fusobacterium nucleatum can drive DNA damage, tumor growth and metastasis, with heightened effects in cells with BRCA1 gene mutations. Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and its Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy (both MD, USA) found that an oral bacterium commonly associated with periodontal disease can promote breast cancer initiation, tumor growth and spread by inducing DNA damage and altering cancer cell behavior. The study, published Jan. 15 in Cell Communication and Signaling, shows that Fusobacterium nucleatum, an oral microbe previously linked to colorectal and other cancers, can travel through the bloodstream and colonize in breast tissue, where it causes inflammation and other precancerous changes. The researchers, led by Dipali Sharma, professor of oncology and a John Fetting Fund for Breast Cancer Prevention investigator, found that the bacterium accelerated tumor growth and increased the spread of cancer cells from the breast to the lung in animal models of human breast cancer. “The key takeaway is that this oral microbe can reside in breast tissue and that there is a connection between this pathogen and breast cancer,” explained Sharma, adding that the team’s study was inspired by many small studies that looked at thousands of patients and connected periodontal disease to breast cancer. “We wanted to dig deeper and see if we could uncover the underlying connections,” continued Sheetal Parida, first author and a research associate working with Sharma. Using mouse models and human breast cancer cells, Sharma and…
