Bacteria ‘melts’ head and neck cancer in revolutionary discovery

Researchers at Guy’s and St Thomas’, and King’s College London have found that a bacteria is toxic for head and neck cancer and may lead to better outcomes for patients.

Fusobacterium is usually associated with the progression of bowel cancer. However, new research published in Cancer Communications shows that in the most common type of head and neck cancer, Fusobacterium, does the opposite – the bacteria destroys tumour cells and could act as a biomarker for how patients will react to treatment.

Head and neck cancer is the sixth most common cancer globally, and around 1,000 people in the UK are diagnosed every month. Survival rates vary widely, depending on how far the cancer has spread at the time of diagnosis. There have been few therapeutic advances in the last 20 years.

Through international collaboration, the team of researchers led by Dr Miguel Reis Ferreira, consultant in head and neck cancers at Guy’s and St Thomas’, found that head and neck cancer patients harbouring higher levels of Fusobacterium, which is commonly found in the mouth, consistently had a better prognosis, than those with lower levels of the bacteria.

Following these observations, Dr Anjali Chander, senior clinical research fellow at King’s College London, found that there was a 70-99% reduction in the number of viable cancer cells in head and neck cancer cell cultures after being infected with Fusobacterium. The bacteria destroy the tumour by releasing toxic molecules, reducing its viability.

This research will help further knowledge of how bacteria and cancers interact, and is the first step in optimising head and neck cancer treatment outcomes for patients – by helping to develop kinder treatments with less side effects. Fusobacterium could also act as a potential predictive biomarker for the efficacy of head and neck cancer treatment.

Dr Miguel Reis Ferreira, consultant in head and neck cancers at Guy’s and St Thomas’ and senior clinical lecturer at King’s College London, and senior author, said:

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. However, this finding should be balanced by their known role in making cancers, such as those in the bowel, get worse.

Next we want to better understand how we can translate this new knowledge into improvements in the treatment of patients with head and neck, and other cancers.

Dr Anjali Chander, senior clinical research fellow at King’s College London and lead author, said:

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.

The research was funded by Guy’s Cancer Charity with thanks to Wilson + Olegario Philanthropy, and Cancer Research UK through its City of London Centre. 

Guy's Head and Neck Cancer Centre launched in 2021, with thanks to the generosity of Wilson + Olegario Philanthropy, to improve how head and neck cancer is diagnosed and treated. The centre aims to speed up the diagnosis for head and neck cancer patients and improve the ways they are treated for their condition by minimising side-effects, maximising treatment effectiveness and reducing rates of recurrence.

Barbara Kasumu, Executive Director of Guy’s Cancer Charity, said:

We are proud to support the ground-breaking research conducted by Miguel and Anjali, which aims to enhance our understanding of head and neck cancer and develop more compassionate and effective treatments.

To read the paper, visit Cancer Communications website.