Bacterial biofilms may feed colon cancer

The tissue in and around tumours of the ascending colon frequently harbours bacterial conglomerations called biofilms. Johnson et al. studied the role of biofilms in colon cancer metabolism by analysing the metabolome of patient-matched colon cancers and normal tissues, with or without biofilms. They observed upregulation of polyamine metabolites, in particular N¹,N¹²-diacetylspermine, in biofilm-positive cancer tissues. As bacteria require polyamines for growth and biofilm formation, the authors hypothesize that a vicious cycle exists, in which the cancerous cells and the biofilms both seem to be contributing to N¹,N¹²-diacetylspermine overproduction.