The biggest mystery surrounding colon cancer finally gets an answer: More than 40 percent find early detection successful, all because of a virus that healthy people simply won’t have.
The researcher who brought this finding to light in a renowned journal is Dr. Flemming Damgaard.
The doctor and PhD at the Department of Clinical Microbiology at Odense University Hospital and the University of Southern Denmark explained how his team answered this longevity paradox.
He began by saying, “It is a paradox that we repeatedly find the same bacteria associated with colorectal cancer, while at the same time it is a completely normal part of the intestine in healthy people.”
But now the team has discovered “a previously undescribed virus that appears to be closely linked to bacteria found in colorectal cancer patients.”
What the expert made clear in his talk, however, is that “it’s not just the bacteria itself that seems interesting. It’s the bacteria interacting with the virus it carries. We don’t yet know if the virus is a contributing cause, or if it’s just a sign that something else has changed in the gut.”
As for why they even looked into this, Flemming says: “It was in our Danish material that we first discovered a signal. That gave us a concrete hypothesis, which we could then investigate in larger data sets.”
Nearly 877 individuals in Europe, the United States and Asia were chosen to ensure that findings would be comparable across continents.
By the end, they found consistency and even came to realize that people with colorectal cancer were almost twice as likely to carry these viruses in their intestines.
For those unfamiliar, nearly 80% of colorectal cancer cases appear to be a result of environmental factors, including the microorganisms in the intestines. Science daily claims.
As Dr Flemming explains: “The number and diversity of bacteria in the gut is enormous. Previously it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Instead, we investigated whether something in the bacteria, namely viruses, could help explain the difference.”
However, he did make one thing clear: “we don’t yet know why the virus is present, but we are investigating whether it contributes to the development of colon cancer.”
But from now on, in the short term, “we can investigate whether the virus can be used to identify individuals at increased risk,” he added before concluding.
What is relevant to mention is that almost 40 percent of cancer cases could be identified with the current findings.
