News archive 2004

Some Bacterial Toxins Could Cause Cancer Says Scientist

25 Mar 2004, PR 17/04

A possible link between cancer and toxins or poisons produced by bacteria has been suggested by King’s College London scientists, the Society for General Microbiology's meeting in Bath will hear next week, Thursday 01 April 2004.

"As the molecular mechanisms of cancer are becoming better understood, the strong association between Helicobacter pylori and a stomach cancer, gastric adenocarcinoma, has shown that some cancers may start from bacterial infections", says Professor Alistair Lax of the Department of Microbiology at the Dental Institute, King's College London. "Recently other bacterial infections have also demonstrated a greater likelihood that a patient will develop cancer. The link has been controversial for a long time, but we can now show one way that it may work.".

Many poisons produced by bacteria are known to act inside our cells, chemically changing some of the processes that govern communication within a cell, and the normal rhythm of cell life is disrupted. This communication process determines whether a cell will grow and divide, or die. Some of the crucial cell proteins are mutated or disrupted during the switch to become a cancer cell, and the scientists think that some bacterial poisons could directly promote cancer formation.

"In particular the bacterium Pasteurella multocida produces a poison which stimulates several of these communication pathways which we know are characteristic of cell changes seen in cancers", says Prof Lax.

The research presented today is the result of over ten years' work on bacterial toxins, and the scientists stress that more information is needed about how these toxins work, and in particular which components of our cells they directly affect. The hypothesis that such toxins can cause cancer or make cancer more likely needs further experimental testing. If further work confirms the hypothesis, doctors and medical researchers will then be able to develop better treatment and preventative measures for some cancers.

Full programme details of this meeting can be found on the Society's website at: http://www.sgm.ac.uk/meetings/MTGPAGES/bath.cfm
Hard copies are available on request from the SGM.

Notes to editors

Professor Lax is presenting the paper ‘Bacterial toxins and cancer: is there a link?' at 0945hrs on Thursday 01 April 2004 in the Microbial Infection Group session of the 154th Meeting of the Society for General Microbiology at the University of Bath, 29 March 2004 - 02 April 2004.

The Society for General Microbiology is the largest microbiology society in Europe, and has over 5,500 members worldwide. The Society provides a common meeting ground for scientists working in research and in fields with applications in microbiology including medicine, veterinary medicine, pharmaceuticals, industry, agriculture, food, the environment and education.

The SGM represents the science and profession of microbiology to government, the media and the general public; supporting microbiology education at all levels; and encouraging careers in microbiology.

King’s College London
King’s is one of the oldest and largest colleges of the University of London with 13,800 undergraduate students and some 5,300 postgraduates in ten schools of study. The College had 24 of its subject-areas awarded the highest rating of 5* and 5 for research quality, demonstrating excellence at an international level. King’s is in the top group of five universities for research earnings with income from grants and contracts of more than £93 million (2002-2003) and has an annual turnover of £320 million. King’s is a member of the Russell Group, a coalition of the UK’s major research-based universities.

Further information
Professor Alistair Lax, Department of Microbiology, Dental Institute, King's College London,
tel: 020 7188 1757, fax: 020 7188 3871
email: alistair.lax@kcl.ac.uk

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