2017•ScienceOpen access
Analysis of Fusobacterium persistence and antibiotic response in colorectal cancer
Susan Bullman, Chandra Sekhar Pedamallu, Ewa Sicińska, Thomas E. Clancy, Xiaoyang Zhang, Diana Cai, Donna Neuberg, Katherine Huang, Fatima Guevara, Timothy Nelson, Otari Chipashvili, Timothy Hagan, Mark Walker, Aruna Ramachandran, Begoña Diosdado, Garazi Serna, Nuria Mulet, Stefania Landolfi, Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Roberta Fasani, Andrew J. Aguirre, Kimmie Ng, Elena Élez, Shuji Ogino, Josep Tabernero, Charles S. Fuchs, William C. Hahn, Paolo Nucíforo, Matthew Meyerson
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Abstract
Bacteria go the distance in cancer The bacterial species Fusobacterium nucleatum is associated with a subset of human colorectal cancers, but its role in tumorigenesis is unclear. Studying patient samples, Bullman et al. found that F. nucleatum and certain co-occurring bacteria were present not only in primary tumors but also in distant metastases. Preliminary evidence suggests that the bacterium is localized primarily within the metastatic cancer cells rather than in the stroma. Antibiotic treatment of mice carrying xenografts of F. nucleatum –positive human colorectal cancer slowed tumor growth, consistent with a causal role for the bacterium in tumorigenesis. Science , this issue p. 1443