Do bad gut bacteria cause colon polyps?
Enrichment of colibactin-associated mutational signatures in unexplained colorectal polyposis patients
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
The amount of colibactin-producing bacteria in stool didn’t predict how many polyps showed DNA damage.
People assume more bacteria = more damage, but this study shows it’s not about quantity—it’s about whether the toxin triggers a specific, rare mutation in a single cell.
Practical Takeaways
If you have unexplained colon polyps, ask your doctor if testing for colibactin signatures (SBS88/ID18) and fecal pks genes is available—this could guide future prevention strategies.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
The amount of colibactin-producing bacteria in stool didn’t predict how many polyps showed DNA damage.
People assume more bacteria = more damage, but this study shows it’s not about quantity—it’s about whether the toxin triggers a specific, rare mutation in a single cell.
Practical Takeaways
If you have unexplained colon polyps, ask your doctor if testing for colibactin signatures (SBS88/ID18) and fecal pks genes is available—this could guide future prevention strategies.
Publication
Journal
BMC Cancer
Year
2023
Authors
D. Terlouw, Arnoud Boot, Q. R. Ducarmon, S. Nooij, M. Suerink, M. V. van Leerdam, D. V. van Egmond, C. Tops, R. Zwittink, D. Ruano, A. Langers, M. Nielsen, T. van Wezel, H. Morreau
Related Content
Claims (6)
Certain strains of Escherichia coli that produce colibactin cause distinct double-strand breaks in the DNA of cells lining the colon, leading to characteristic mutation patterns known as SBS88 and ID18.
In people with unexplained colorectal polyps, nearly one in three tumor samples shows a specific type of DNA damage pattern that is commonly caused by a bacterial toxin called colibactin, suggesting this bacterium may be involved in causing DNA mutations in some cases.
In patients with unexplained polyps in the colon, those who have a specific DNA damage pattern linked to colibactin are more likely to carry bacteria in their gut that produce colibactin, compared to those without this DNA pattern.
Researchers found that DNA damage patterns linked to a specific bacterial toxin were present in 39% of colorectal tumors from individuals with APC gene variants, compared to 11% in individuals without these tumors. This suggests a statistical relationship between the bacterial toxin and the type of DNA damage observed in these cancers.
In patients with unexplained polyps and specific DNA damage patterns, detecting a bacterial gene in stool along with a unique tumor mutation pattern identifies colibactin exposure in 87% of cases, compared to 25% when only one method is used.