New research finds a potential bacterial link to aggressive prostate cancer

Be cautious of the 'B-word' when talking about the 'C-word'

By Howard Wolinsky

Some promising news about prostate cancer came over the transom this morning on aggressive prostate cancer and bacteria.

Could these lead to new treatments or put the brakes on prostate cancer?

British researchers have found a link between aggressive prostate cancer and several bacteria. If this holds up, new antibiotics could be developed that potentially could prevent prostate cancer.

This is being hailed as a breakthrough of course. But as a professional medical journalist and a fellow patient, I must warn you about media hype and the “B-word,” especially when dealing with the “C-word.”

Be wary when a breakthrough is being hailed in general, but especially for cancers. It’s easy for reporters and editors to get carried away when they can offer some hope to patients.

There’s a saying in the science writing trade that there are two kinds of cancer stories—”New hope” or “No hope.” (The late science writer Victor Cohn, of the Washington Post, is credited with identifying this as “Cohn’s law.”)

So now for the “New hope” for prostate cancer, at least more aggressive prostate cancer,

The Guardian reports on some research led by scientists from the University of East Anglia: “Scientists have discovered bacteria linked to aggressive prostate cancer in work hailed as a potential revolution for the prevention and treatment of the most deadly form of the disease.”

In a study of more than 600 men with and without prostate cancer, using urine tests and biopsy tissue, five species of bacteria were linked to rapid progression of prostate cancer.

“The study does not prove that the bacteria drive or exacerbate prostate cancer, but if work now underway confirms their role, researchers can develop tests to identify men most at risk and potentially find antibiotics to prevent the cancer from claiming thousands of lives each year,” the Guardian reports.

The study, “Microbiomes of Urine and the Prostate Are Linked to Human Prostate Cancer Risk Groups” by researcher Rachel Hurst, of  Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, Norfolk, UK, appears in the April 18 edition of the journal European European Oncology.

Researchers said: “We demonstrated a significant correlation between groups with increased risk of prostate cancer and the presence of bacteria …”

“This is an exciting discovery that has the potential to truly revolutionize treatment for men,” said Dr. Hayley Luxton of Prostate Cancer UK, which co-funded the research.

Patients with low-risk prostate cancer had less evidence of bacteria.

(Porphyromonas, one of the culprits?)

TheActiveSurveillor.com contacted the researchers with questions and will follow up if they provide answers. I want to know what this means, if anything, for patients with low-risk disease.

I asked the researchers about this and about the strategy for tackling bacteria in a world where antibiotics are increasingly ineffective.

(Varibaculum, another culprit?)

Lead scientist Colin Cooper, a professor of cancer genetics at the University of East Anglia, told the Guardian it was possible the bacteria are not involved in the disease. The Guardian said: “For example, men with more aggressive prostate cancer may have immune system deficiencies that allow certain bacteria to thrive. But the researchers strongly suspect the microbes are involved, just as Helicobacter pylori infections raise the risk of stomach cancer.”

The Australian researchers, who discovered that H. pylori caused the vast majority of peptic ulcers, initially encountered disbelief and scorn. They eventually won a Nobel Prize.

So breakthrough or bust this time around? Time will tell.

Hope springs eternal over here at TheActiveSurveillor.com. But caution does, too.