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Colorectal cancer

Hand-in-hand — colorectal cancer metastasizes with microorganisms

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Increased relative abundance of Fusobacterium species contributes to the difference in intestinal bacterial composition between healthy individuals and patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). A new study now reveals that live Fusobacterium originating from primary CRC associate with liver metastasis, suggesting a potentially important function for this bacterial genus in metastatic tumour growth.

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Figure 1: Fusobacterium translocate with primary colorectal cancer cells to the liver and promote patient-derived xenograft tumour growth.

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Acknowledgements

Y.Y. is supported by the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA) research fellowship award (CCFA Ref. #409472). C.J. is funded by NIH grants R01DK073338, R01AT008623 and R21CA195226, and the University of Florida Department of Medicine Gatorade Fund.

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Correspondence to Christian Jobin.

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Yang, Y., Jobin, C. Hand-in-hand — colorectal cancer metastasizes with microorganisms. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol 15, 133–134 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrgastro.2017.186

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