Bacteria could become new biomarker for testing patients’ reaction to cancer treatments which would give microbiologists and clinical laboratories a new tool for aiding diagnosis and in the selection of appropriate therapies
In a surprising study conducted at King’s College London and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, British scientists have discovered that a common bacteria found in the mouth may be able to “melt” certain cancers. The bacteria could also be used as a clinical laboratory biomarker to determine how patients may react to specific cancer treatments.
The researchers found that the presence of Fusobacterium can help neutralize head and neck cancers and provide better outcomes in patients with those diseases, according to a Kings College London news release.
“In essence, we found that when you find these bacteria within head and neck cancers, [patients] have much better outcomes,” said Miguel Reis Ferreira, MD, PhD, clinical oncologist at Guy’s and St Thomas’, adjunct senior clinical lecturer at King’s College London and senior author of the study, in the news release. “The other thing that we found is that in cell cultures this bacterium is capable of killing cancer.”
“This research reveals that these bacteria play a more complex role than previously known in their relationship with cancer—that they essentially melt head and neck cancer cells,” said Miguel Reis Ferreira, MD, PhD (above), clinical oncologist at Guy’s and St Thomas’, adjunct senior clinical lecturer at King’s College London and senior author of the study, in a news release. “However, this finding should be balanced by their known role in making cancers such as those in the bowel get worse.” Should these findings prove sound, clinical laboratories may soon have a new biomarker for testing patients’ reaction to cancer treatments. (Photo copyright: King’s College London.)
Researchers Surprised by Their Findings
The researchers began their research by using computer modeling to identify the types of bacteria to further scrutinize. They then studied the effect of those bacteria on cancer cells by analyzing data on 155 head and neck cancer patients whose tumor information had been submitted to the Cancer Genome Atlas. Head and neck cancers include cancers of the mouth, throat, voice box, nose, and sinuses.
The scientists placed Fusobacterium in petri dishes and kept the bacteria there for a few days. They observed the effect of that bacteria on head and neck cancers and discovered there was a 70% to 90% reduction in the number of viable cancer cells after being infused with the Fusobacterium.
Due to the known correlation between Fusobacterium and colorectal cancer, the team was astonished to find the cancer cells present in head and neck cancers had almost been eradicated.
In the news release, Ferreira said the researchers initially expected the Fusobacterium to boost the growth of the cancers and render those cancers more resistant to treatments like radiotherapy. However, they found the opposite to be true.
“The research in colorectal cancer indicates that these bacteria are bad, and that was kind of ingrained into our minds, and we were expecting to find the same thing,” said Ferreira in a Press Association (PA) interview, The Independent reported. “When we started finding things the other way around, we were brutally surprised.”
Predicting Better Outcomes, Lower Risk of Death
“You put it in the cancer at very low quantities and it just starts killing it very quickly,” Ferreira said in the King’s College London news release. “What we’re finding is that this little bug is causing a better outcome based on something that it’s doing inside the cancer. So we are looking for that mechanism at present, and it should be the theme for a new paper in the very short-term future.”
In addition, the scientists discovered that patients with Fusobacterium within their cancer showed improved survival rates when compared to those without the bacteria. The presence of the bacteria correlated with a 65% reduction in death risk.
“What it could mean is that we can use these bacteria to better predict which patients are more likely to have good or worse outcomes, and based on that, we could change their treatment to make it kinder in the patients that have better outcomes or make it more intense in patients that are more likely to have their cancers come back,” said Ferreira in the PA interview.
“Our findings are remarkable and very surprising. We had a eureka moment when we found that our international colleagues also found data that validated the discovery,” said Anjali Chander, PhD student, senior clinical research fellow, Comprehensive Cancer Center, King’s College London, and lead author of the study in the news release.
More to Learn about Bacteria as Biomarkers
According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), more than 71,000 people will be diagnosed with one of the major types of head and neck cancer this year in the US and more than 16,000 patients will die from these diseases.
The Global Cancer Observatory (GLOBOCAN) estimates there are about 900,000 new cases of head and neck cancers diagnosed annually worldwide with approximately 450,000 deaths attributed to those cancers every year. GLOBOCAN also claims head and neck cancers are the seventh most common cancer globally.
More research and studies are needed to confirm the virtue of this latest venture into the human microbiome. However, the preliminary results of this study appear promising.
The study of human microbiota continues to bring unexpected surprises, as scientists gain more insights and identify specific strains of bacteria that may have a positive or negative influence on an individual’s health. These discoveries may give microbiologists and clinical laboratories intriguing new biomarkers that could be incorporated into medical tests that aid diagnosis and the selection of appropriate therapies.
Sickle cell patients and others who need long-term blood transfusions provided by clinical laboratories and others would benefit most from successfully lab-grown blood
Administering lab-developed red blood cells in humans in a clinical study conducted in the United Kingdom (UK) is being hailed as a significant step forward in efforts to supplement the supply of whole blood through the development of synthetic blood products. Of interest to those clinical laboratory managers overseeing hospital blood banking services, researchers were able to create this new blood product from normal blood pints collected from donors.
What caused this clinical study to gain wider attention is the fact that previous attempts to create synthetic whole blood products have proved to be unsuccessful. For that reason, this new research has raised hopes that lab-grown blood may be just around the corner.
The initiative, known as RESTORE, is a joint research project conducted by scientists from the UK’s:
According to the researchers, it is the first such clinical trial performed in the world. Partial funding for this clinical study was provided by an NIHR grant, according to an NHS press release.
Most hospital laboratories also manage a blood bank. Thus, this breakthrough will be of interest to many clinical laboratory managers and blood bankers who are concerned about the shortage of blood products. Plus, blood products are quite expensive. This research could develop solutions that both ease the tight supply of blood and lower the cost of these critical products while improving patient care.
“This research, backed by government investment, represents a breakthrough for patients and means treatment could be transformed for those with diseases including sickle cell,” said Neil O’Brien (above), Minister of State for Health, in an NHS press release. “Once again this shows the UK is leading the world when it comes to scientific innovation and collaboration while delivering high quality care to those who need it the most,” he added. If the lab-grown products prove clinically viable, medical laboratories in the UK may soon suffer less from a shortage of available blood. (Photo copyright: UK Parliament.)
Manufacturing Blood from Stem Cells
“This world-leading research lays the groundwork for the manufacture of red blood cells that can safely be used to transfuse people with disorders like sickle cell,” hematologist Farrukh Shah, MD, Medical Director Transfusion, NHS Blood and Transplant, told BBC News. “The need for normal blood donations to provide the vast majority of blood will remain. But the potential for this work to benefit hard-to-transfuse patients is very significant.”
The process of manufacturing blood cells starts with a normal donation of a pint of blood. The researchers then use magnetic beads to single out flexible stem cells that can become red blood cells. Those flexible stem cells are grown in large quantities in the lab and then guided to transform into red blood cells.
“This challenging and exciting trial is a huge stepping stone for manufacturing blood from stem cells,” said Ashley Toye, PhD, Professor of Cell Biology at the University of Bristol in the NHS press release. “This is the first-time lab grown blood from an allogeneic donor has been transfused and we are excited to see how well the cells perform at the end of the clinical trial.”
The process to create the lab-grown blood cells takes about three weeks, and a pool of approximately half a million stem cells can result in 50 billion red blood cells. These cells are then clarified further to reap about 15 billion red blood cells that are at the optimum level to transplant into a human patient.
“Some blood groups are extremely rare, to the point that only 10 people in a country can donate blood,” Toye told BBC News. “We want to make as much blood as possible in the future, so the vision in my head is a room full of machines producing it continually from a normal blood donation.”
Transforming Care for Patients Who Need Long-term Blood Transfusions
To date, only two patients have taken part in the clinical trial. Next, the researchers plan to perform two mini transfusions on 10 volunteers at least four months apart. One transfusion will contain traditional donated red blood cells and the other will consist of the lab-grown cells. This experiment will show which blood cells last longer in the body. The findings could ultimately allow a patient to receive fewer transfusions and prevent iron overload, which can be a side effect of blood transfusions.
“We hope our lab-grown red blood cells will last longer than those that come from blood donors,” said Cédric Ghevaert, MD, Senior Lecturer in Transfusion Medicine at the University of Cambridge, in the NHS press release. “If our trial—the first such in the world—is successful, it will mean that patients who currently require regular long-term blood transfusions will need fewer transfusions in the future, helping transform their care.”
More research and clinical trials will be necessary to validate the efficacy and safety of these lab-grown blood products. However, such a breakthrough could potentially revolutionize treatments for patients with blood disorders, complex transfusion needs, and rare blood types, as well as reduce healthcare costs and curb blood shortages.
At the same time, this technology would also contribute to expanding the supply of useful blood products, a development that would be welcomed by those pathologists and clinical laboratory professionals overseeing the blood banks in their respective hospitals and integrated delivery networks (IDNs).
More sensitive analytical technologies allow medical laboratories to perform more sophisticated tests using tiny blood specimens on paper
New breakthroughs are creating the opportunity to use “dried blood spot” (DBS) technology in an expanded number of pathology and clinical laboratory testing applications. The latest innovation was developed in the United Kingdom and allows more sophisticated applications of this decades-old screening method.
This new technology was announced in a press release that discussed the new screening method. It was developed by a research team in the UK as a rapid method for simultaneously screening patients for a range of genetic and acquired clinical conditions from a single dried blood spot.
The team consisted of researchers at King’s College of London, together with clinicians from Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. The college and the two hospitals are part of King’s Health Partners, one of the UK’s five Academic Health Sciences Centers.
