Experts uncover an infection that hits thousands and thousands a yr could possibly be behind explosion in younger bowel most cancers circumstances

A revolutionary vaccine that destroys specific strains of the bacteria E.coli could cut the risk of bowel, bladder and prostate cancers, according to scientists.

Research has suggested increasing cases of certain cancers in the UK could be linked to the bug — which is well-known for causing food poisoning, as well as urinary tract and blood infections. 

The particularly harmful strains produce a DNA-damaging chemical called colibactin that has been linked to several types of cancer, including bowel cancer.

Vaccinating people to prevent them from becoming infected could offer ‘huge public health benefits’, researchers said, including lowering cancer risk. 

The sharp rise in young people being diagnosed with cancer is a trend that’s baffling doctors.  

Bowel cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death in the UK with around 16,800 deaths a year. But over the last 30 years cases have surged by 52 per cent in 25-49 year-olds, according to studies.

The mystery surge is thought to be linked to obesity, sedentary lifestyles and junk food consumption. 

Cases of prostate cancer have also increased by 622 per cent in 25-49 year-olds since the early 1990s and more than 55,000 cases are diagnosed a year in the UK across all age groups, Cancer Research says.

A study has suggested higher cases of certain cancers in industrialised countries such as the UK could be linked to two particular types of E.coli, which can cause infections in the urinary tract and bloodstream

Although overall cases of bladder cancer have actually decreased by 23 per cent in the UK between 2000-2002, more than 10,000 people are diagnosed with the disease every year, according to Cancer Research. 

But a vaccine to tackle E.coli — a diverse group of bacteria that are normally harmless and live in the intestines of humans and animals — could reduce these numbers, a study published in the Lancet Microbe has revealed. 

In the study researchers used international surveillance data to track different strains that had infected patients across different countries, including the UK, Norway, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

The academics were especially interested in two strains that are more common in industrialised countries and cause infections of the bloodstream and urinary tract, rather than the digestive system. 

These countries also have higher levels of bowel, bladder and prostate cancers, according to researchers. 

The team’s analysis showed these strains were much rarer in countries such as Bangladesh and Pakistan, where cases of bowel, bladder and prostate cancers are also lower.

Senior author Professor Jukka Corander, of the Wellcome Sanger Institute, University of Oslo, and the University of Helsinki, said: ‘We have been using large-scale genomics to track E.coli strains across multiple countries for the last five years, using data that goes back to the early 2000s.

‘This has allowed us to start to see the possible connections between two E.coli strains and cancer incidence rates.’

Previous research has linked the DNA-damaging chemical called colibactin produced by certain strains of E.coli to several types of cancers. 

Researchers note one 2020 study where tumour samples collected from patients with colorectal cancer had mutations that showed signs of the chemical colibactin.

Other studies have shown that colibactin can fuel the development of prostate and bladder cancers.

Researchers say this indicates a plausible link to an increased risk of all three cancers.

Study authors have suggested that interventions that will eradicate these two strains of E.coli, such as a vaccine, could be hugely effective at cutting cancer rates. 

Another option suggested in the study is a ‘therapeutic probiotic’ to help destroy these two E.coli strains from the human gut, with the aim of removing them from the population entirely.

Dr Tommi Maklin, of the University of Helsinki and the Wellcome Sanger Institute, who worked on the study, added: ‘E.coli can be found around the world, in many different forms, and understanding how strains of this bacteria impact humans differently can give us a more complete picture of health and disease.

‘Having access to global genomic data on which strains are found in an area can uncover new trends and possibilities, such as strains in industrialised countries potentially being linked to the risk of certain cancers.

‘We also need to keep ensuring that countries and regions around the world are included in genomic surveillance research so that everyone benefits from new discoveries.’

Professor Corander said he hopes the findings unlock a way of potentially eradicating E.coli which produce colibactin — a chemical which has been linked to bowel cancer. 

‘Science is not a stand-alone endeavour and by working together with cancer and microbiome experts, we are hopeful that in the future this work might lead to new ways to eradicate colibactin-producing E.coli strains,’ he said.

‘Vaccines or other interventions that target these E.coli strains could offer huge public health benefits, such as reducing the burden of infections and lessening the need for antibiotics to treat these, as well as reducing the risk of cancers that could be linked to the effects of colibactin exposure.’

Dr Trevor Lawley, of the Wellcome Sanger Institute, said: ‘In the future, it could be possible to develop therapeutic probiotics that help to displace unwanted bacterial strains, such as the ones that release colibactin.

‘Understanding more about the interactions between E.coli and cancer risk highlights the impact our microbiome has on our health and is a crucial avenue to explore if we want to work with our bodies to help combat certain conditions.’