Cynthia L. Sears, MD, professor of Medicine, at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, member of the Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, discusses bacteria possibly influencing the development of colon cancer. 

There are 2 dichotomies in the field, Sears explains. The first is that a  single bacteria may be critical to the pathogenesis of colon cancer. The second dichotomy is that a community of bacteria has changed to contribute to the development and progression of colon cancer. 

At this point in the field, researchers do not know which idea is correct, says Sears. There are ongoing clinical trials, both with patients and mouse models, that are focused on examining these ideas.

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Cynthia L. Sears, MD, professor of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, member of the Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, discusses bacteria possibly influencing the development of colon cancer.

Dr. Sears on Bacteria Influencing Development of Colon Cancer

Cynthia L. Sears, MD, professor of Medicine, at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, member of the Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, discusses microbiota in patients with colon cancer.

When single organisms, particularly bacteria such as e-coli or enterotoxigenic bacteroides fragilis, are added to a complex microbiota in a mouse, you increase the numbers of tumors in the colon compared with the background mouse, says Sears.

At a minimum, studying those models helps experts in the field to better understand the mechanisms by which bacteria may be procarcinogenic and allows for the ability to look at humans who have those organisms and see if any of those mechanisms transfer there, explains Sears.

Cynthia L. Sears, MD, professor of Medicine, at John Hopkins University School of Medicine, member of the Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, discusses microbiota in patients with colon cancer.

Cynthia L. Sears, MD

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Dr. Sears on Bacteria Influencing Development of Colon Cancer

Dr. Sears on Microbiota in Colon Cancer