Half of the Japanese will suffer from cancer once in their lives. In the battle against cancer, the possibility of using stool has emerged. Results have shown that if the types of bacteria inside the large intestine are examined, it is possible to achieve ultra-early detection of cancer and predict drug effects. Stool is effective in the diagnosis of colorectal cancer and may become a tool to provide more information.
Cancer accounts for nearly 30% of Japanese deaths. If the cancer is found before it has metastasized, many patients can be cured by surgery. However, with the exception of some cancers diagnosed by endoscopy, early detection of cancer is still difficult due to small cancer tissues.
| Osaka University will work on the development of technology to detect intestinal bacteria contained in stool and early detection of colorectal cancer (picture provided by Osaka University) |
Stool examinations are currently widely used in colorectal cancer diagnosis and have certain effects, but the difficulty is that the cancers found may not be early.
Recently, we are paying attention to bacteria contained in stool. Professor Shinichi Yanuchi of Osaka University and others collected stool from about 600 people, and found the ultra-early colorectal cancer called “stage 0” with 74% accuracy. This is the result obtained after examining a total of about 50 intestinal bacteria, their genes, and compounds formed by bacteria contained in stool. It is said that “stage 0” is an early stage cancer that can be cured by endoscopic surgery.
Comparing the types of intestinal bacteria in stools of patients with colorectal cancer and those of non-patients, Professor Yanuchida found that the types of intestinal bacteria in people with colorectal cancer are similar. If you collect further evidence, you can tell people who have more specific intestinal bacteria in the stool, “The environment in your large intestine is prone to cancer. It is recommended to undergo endoscopic examination.”
Stool can also show the effect of anticancer drugs. Dr. Yasuyuki Hakozaki of Tokyo Metropolitan Komagome Hospital and Dr. Yusuke Okuma of Japan’s National Cancer Research Center discovered that intestinal bacteria in stool are related to the effects of anticancer drugs.
For example, the anti-cancer drug “Opdivo” (Chinese name: Odivo) and other “cancer immunity drugs” that are considered to be effective. The drug has a high effect on some patients with advanced cancer, but only 20% to 30% of patients are effective, and it has almost no effect on other patients. It is difficult to predict which patients will be effective.
The researchers collected the stools of 70 lung cancer patients and used 3 immune drugs. If there are many types of bacteria in the intestines and specific bacteria, the therapeutic effect will be high. The 16 people with fewer types of intestinal bacteria had lower therapeutic effects. This may be related to the metabolites of bacteria in the intestine. Dr. Daxiong said, “Combined with blood and cancer tissue examinations will improve accuracy.”
Europe and the United States are at the forefront of research using stool to investigate the effects of anticancer drugs. Institut Gustave Roussy (Institut Gustave Roussy) in 2018 predicted the effect of Odivo for 100 people with lung and kidney cancer. Approximately 70% of patients with effective drugs have specific intestinal bacteria. Only about 30% of patients with ineffective drugs have these bacteria.
On the one hand, the types of bacteria in the intestines vary by ethnicity and food, and detailed research is needed.
Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Chinese version: Nikkei Chinese website) Kusoshio Takuro, Shimonoya Ryoko
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