Hyderabad: Gut bacteria is found to play a major role in making pancreatic tumours aggressive according to a recent study published in Cancer Discovery. The study stated that the bad bacteria in the guts are found to suppress the immune system response and due to that the growth of pancreatic tumours become very aggressive.
Fifty patients who suffered from pancreatic cancer were studied and it was found that their gut bacteria had played a major role in the progression of their cancer.
Dr K. Vinay, senior surgical oncologist explained, “Gut bacteria is found to play a role in liver and colorectal cancer. But the pancreas were always considered remote from the gut and was thought to be a sterile organ. But now studies are depicting the role of gut microbiome in pancreatic cancer. This will now offer a better understanding for dealing with this cancer.”
Fecal samples helped the researchers decode and also build a relation between the gut and the pancreas. It was found that the bacterial composition showed a large concentration of bad bacteria in cancer patients.
Researchers are using gut microbiome as a biomarker to understand the risk. Dr B. K. Rupa, senior gastroenterologist said, “The co-relation is at a very nascent stage. Researchers have identified four to five strains of bacteria which are found in large numbers. They are also found to translocateX from the gut to the pancreas. This will now help to understand how to treat the patient better.
Pancreatic cancers are very aggressive and treatment protocols are a challenge in advanced cases.” Almost 80 per cent of the cases that report to clinics are at an advanced stage.
The prevalence of the disease is 1 per 1,00,000 people per year globally but in India it is found to be 2.3 per 1,00,000 people per year. Pancreatic cancers are caused due to sedentary lifestyle, smoking and also high intake of alcohol. Those suffering from diabetes and chronic inflammation are also at risk.
