Joe Sixpack, a young man, has bleeding gums. He has no dental coverage and can’t afford to see a dentist. Besides, who on God’s earth wants to see a dentist anyway? So Joe ignores his symptoms.
His colon is worried and organizes a meeting of fellow organs. “Why isn’t Joe taking care of his teeth? the colon asks the liver. “I’m in danger, you’re in danger and all the rest of us are in danger too. Our entire organization is in danger!” says the colon. “I thought he loved us!“
“It’s a no brainer!” says the brain. His medical plan should include dental coverage!”
“I rectum that’s right!” says the rectum.
“He’s heartless!” says the heart.
“Someone pleeeze expleen to me why he hates us so much!” says the spleen.
Meanwhile evil merchants of death lurk in the shadows waiting for their marching orders. “Let’s Bloody Go!” mouths the evil foreign invader. “It’s time to destroy the organization! Be quick about it!”
Colon Cancer Linked to Mouth Bacteria
Genomic research of Fusobacterium nucleatum isolated from colon cancer tumors may help researchers develop future screening tests and cancer vaccines
A healthy colon is a marvelously effective organ that squeezes nutrients and water out of food while pumping out waste. But sometimes small clumps of abnormal cells grow on the colon’s lining and turn into cancer. Colon cancer is relatively common but tricky to catch; it can only be confirmed with a colonoscopy or surgery. And a recent, so-far-unexplained rise in colon cancer rates among younger people has ramped up urgency in learning more about how the disease works—and how to prevent it.
Pinning down colon cancer’s genetic or environmental causes has been a complex and long-running quest, but a new study in Nature points to a promising clue: a bacterium typically found in the human mouth. The study found that a specific subtype, or clade, within a subspecies of Fusobacterium nucleatum was linked to colon cancer growth and progression. These results, the study authors say, could lead to better noninvasive diagnostic methods for colon cancer and could even suggest new therapies targeting these bacteria for tumor elimination.
