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Diarrhea Bug May Offer Cancer Cure

Posted by timothy on from the pays-yer-money-takes-your-chances dept.

Makarand writes "Researchers now think that the diarrhea bug may be of help in building resistance to colon cancer. The toxins produced by E. coli, the diarrhea bug, irritate the lining of the bowels and also interact with the cells in a way that prevents them from becoming cancerous. This may very well explain why colorectal cancer is common in the developed countries but rare in the developing countries. Researchers who added E. coli toxins to a dish containing rapidly dividing cancer cells could almost brought the cancerous growth to a halt."

32 comments

  1. Uh... by fobside · · Score: 4, Funny

    If you're a doctor, how do you prescribe cancer prevention? "I recommend brocolli and diahrrea."

    1. Re:Uh... by Simon+Field · · Score: 2, Insightful


      As I recall, the active ingredient in broccoli is glucoraphanin, a precursor to sulphoraphane. The mechanism of sulphorophane is to induce the body to produce enzymes that attack free radicals.

      Other anti-oxidants in fruit and vegetables may also scavenge free radicals, reducing their harm to DNA. But perhaps the sheer bulk of those foods also speeds the passage of the free radicals out of the system, so they have less time to do damage.

      Now we have an article about an experiment using E. Coli toxins to slow down the rapid division of cancer cells in a petri dish. As others have pointed out, many toxic substances should also have this effect. But how did they decide that this effect was what was helping, and not the speedy elimination of free redicals?

      Perhaps when you are looking for a lucrative anti-cancer drug, wishful thinking takes over.

      --

      Free book: Science Toys You Can Make

    2. Re:Uh... by TheMidget · · Score: 1
      If you're a doctor, how do you prescribe diarrhea?

      • Go to India, and be sure to drink their excellent tap water... Sample their excellent fresh salads. Never wash your hands before eating. Enjoy fruit bought from traditional markets, especially fruits without a peel.
      • Keep your fruit jam or juice long enough for it to develop a nice grey fur before you consume it. Works with other foodstuffs too.
      • Always have a glas of ice-cold water just after getting up.
  2. E. Coli? by waytoomuchcoffee · · Score: 5, Funny

    That theory is pure shit.

    1. Re:E. Coli? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, in fact it is impure, biologically CONTAMINATED shit!

  3. So, on trip to taco bell, my carcinomas history? by Unknown+Poltroon · · Score: 5, Funny

    Chemo, taco bell, chemo, taco bell....What a bitch of a choice.

    --
    All Troll + "offtopic" mods are meta moderated as "Unfair", because you abused the system.
  4. diarrhea? by AndyAMPohl · · Score: 1

    The article reads like it's such a surprise E. coli. of all things is what they're using. E. coli is the most common prokaryotic model organism scientists study e.g. Watson & Crick, Kornberg, etc. The article is decent, but I think I'll just look in PNAS myself.

    Andy

    1. Re:diarrhea? by Cy+Guy · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Yes, E.coli has gotten a bad rap because a couple of its strains (like 0157 and 0111) have caused terrible outbreaks of conditions MUCH worse than diarhea, including death of children and total organ failure. But most variants of E.coli (named for MC Escher because of its capability of rolling into a ball like a creature in one of Escher's drawings) are perfectly harmless or even beneficial* to our normal digestive process.

      If anything the blame for the outbreaks lies with the meat processors who slaughter cattle in unsanitary ways that allows the contents of the gut to get mixed with the meat we eat. When this happens with steak, it really doesn't have much of an effect since the interior of the steak is never exposed to the E.coli and the exterior is cooked. But when a gut-splattered beef is left unwashed and then ground into hamburger - there is a chance that the interior of a hamburger will not be cooked to a temperature high enough to kill the E.coli (hambugers should never be served rare).

      * there is current research being done to try and overwhelm 0157 in cattle by colonizing their tract with just beneficial strains. But this implies the meat processors aren't going to ficx the problem the right way by getting the sh!t out of our food in the first place.

      --
      Work for Change & GET PAID!
    2. Re:diarrhea? by TheMidget · · Score: 1
      hambugers should never be served rare

      ... and what about "steak tartare"? ;-)

    3. Re:diarrhea? by Cy+Guy · · Score: 1

      and what about "steak tartare"? ;-)

      Prepare it yourself by buying a thick steak or roast, washing it throughly, then quickly searing it on all sides.

      This will kill off all (or at least nearly all) E.Coli contamination - which is only on the exterior of the meat. Then trim off the cooked parts and grind or chop the interior raw meat into your steak tartare.

      Even then, I wouldn't feed it to children or anyone with a compromised immune system.

      (If you want to avoid the cooking and trimming steps, you might try marinating the whole cut in Everclear, or Bacardi 180 Rum, which should work as pretty effective 'edible' disinfectant. Do this after you have thouroughly washed it water - and then patted it dry, though. The left over Everclear marinade could then be mixed with Tomato Juice, Worcestershire Sauce, and Tabasco and served in a "steak tartare flavored" "Bloody Mary" to accompany the entree.)

      --
      Work for Change & GET PAID!
  5. Other possible cures by atomicdragon · · Score: 3, Funny

    Researchers who added E. coli toxins to a dish containing rapidly dividing cancer cells could almost brought the cancerous growth to a halt.

    I can think of a quite a few things you add to the dish that would bring the cancerous growth to a halt, like concentrated hydochloric acid, plutonium or lit thermite.

    1. Re:Other possible cures by one9nine · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Unfortunately, they will also bring you to a halt as well.

    2. Re:Other possible cures by ffsnjb · · Score: 1

      No less than 12 molar!

      --
      "Why do you consent to live in ignorance and fear?" - Bad Religion
    3. Re:Other possible cures by TheMidget · · Score: 1

      Not sure about the plutonium. Doesn't radioactivity cause cancer?

  6. My god, it's true! by TheSHAD0W · · Score: 3, Funny

    "White Castle has the taste some people can't live without..."

  7. And in other news... by Cinematique · · Score: 3, Funny

    NEW YORK (AP) - The market winked it's eye today at Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM) as shares of the fast-food conglomerate shot up 1.68% today upon a report directly linking a reduction of colon cancer in their loyal consumer base with the food served at the variety of restaraunts under their corporate umbrella, including Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and KFC. Further boosting the stock this Monday, the company reported earnings that were on target with previous estimates, and a strong indication Goldman Sachs plans on raising the stocks rating from from a "Buy" to a "Strong Buy."

    (end)

  8. What else causes diarrhea? by fobside · · Score: 2, Interesting

    It's not always the bacteria that does it, right? When you eat chips that contain Olestra, that gives you the runs as well. If you really flood your system with fluids, you soften the stool as well. IF you eat food containing lots of fats, it happens as well. This poses a problem of explaining causality to a normal person.

    I see a bunch of people thinking, "Hey, diarrhea is a good thing!" Then people will start trying to cause themselves diarrhea any way they can, which is not a good thing. It's the cause of the largest loss of water in humans. I see people screwing their bodies up so they can be "healthy."

    1. Re:What else causes diarrhea? by Oculus+Habent · · Score: 1
      I see people screwing their bodies up so they can be "healthy."

      How is that new? People have been doing stupid things in the name of being healthy for as long as I can remember, and probably a lot longer than that.

      I think it's more about the toxins from E.Coli instead of the expulsion, though earlier comments bring up good points about the amount of time the free radicals spend in your system.

      --
      That what was all this school was for... to teach us how to solve our own problems. -- janeowit
  9. Cancer Cures as Urban Myths by ivi · · Score: 1


    may offer cancer cure

    Anthrax... Diarrhea Bug... What next? ;-)

  10. Sing along! by Tom7 · · Score: 4, Funny



    when you're runnin' into cancer
    and you want another answer

    diarrhea,
    diarrhea

    1. Re:Sing along! by satanami69 · · Score: 1
      My favorite one of those was

      When you're sliding down a slide and your balls hit the side
      diarrhea,
      diarrhea

      --
      I really hate Dan Patrick.
    2. Re:Sing along! by Lord_Of_The_Beer · · Score: 2, Funny

      I always liked

      "Floting down the Gutter
      on a piece of bread & butter"

      --
      D.A.K.D.A.E.---- Deny all Knowledge, Destroy All Evidence
    3. Re:Sing along! by weeboo0104 · · Score: 1

      If cancer has you down
      you need to turn your blue jeans brown
      diarrhea!
      diarrhea!

      --
      It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men. -Frederick Douglass
  11. yes! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    could almost brought the cancerous growth to a halt.

    This is became very interestingly!

  12. Speaking of halting... by cicatrix1 · · Score: 0, Troll

    Researchers who added E. coli toxins to a dish containing rapidly dividing cancer cells could almost brought the cancerous growth to a halt.

    Maybe English teachers should try harder to bring tense changing to a halt.

    --

    I know more than you drink.
    1. Re:Speaking of halting... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      rofl
      maybe i should try bringing my html tags to a halt =/

  13. this is not a single bullet theory by sckeener · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The reason I don't buy it is a personal reason. My father and mother in law died of colon cancer and they had the worst eating habits.

    Typically they would make some edible food in the morning and then nibble on it all day (hot or cold whether they washed their hands or not.) They bought pepto bismol in the economy size twice a week and thought that was normal!

    This is a nice study, but there are other factors. My parents in law had well water that had oil in it, so I'd say environmental issues play a large roll in cancer.

    --
    "Only one thing, is impossible for god: to find any sense in any copyright law on the planet." Mark Twain
    1. Re:this is not a single bullet theory by spotted_dolphin · · Score: 1

      I don't think they are trying to imply that this is a 'single bullet theory'. If anything, they are say that environmental issues *are* a factor. As a hygenically concerned society, we're all paranoid about bugs and germs, but there are millions of bacteria that are part of our natural microflora. Our environmental surroundings help to select for the particular types of bacteria on and in us. We all have E. coli in our gastrointestinal tracts, but certain strains secrete toxins which result in severe diarrhea and it seems that the population of developed countries are not as likely to have. Just keep in mind also that there are genetic correlations to whether a person may be susceptible to developing colorectal cancer.

  14. Other factors factored? by Bowling+Moses · · Score: 1

    I can't find (didn't try very hard either) an actual journal article for this. Did the authors break down colon cancer by age group in their comparison of 1st world and 3rd world countries? Colon cancer is usually late onset, occuring in the 60's and 70's--age groups that 3rd world countries have proportionally much fewer citizens in.

  15. has anyone thought... by Mark19960 · · Score: 1

    that perhaps the reason they dont see this in developing countries has anything to do with the quality of medical care?
    we find it, because we have better care and doctors to diagnose it, ect.
    in developing countries, your lucky to SEE a doctor.
    I hope they considered this factor...

  16. 1st world cancer rates explained? Yeah, right. by JUSTONEMORELATTE · · Score: 1

    This may very well explain why colorectal cancer is common in the developed countries but rare in the developing countries.
    I'm
    Sure
    That's
    The
    Reason

  17. Escher by catbutt · · Score: 1

    That is so cool that e. coli is named after my favorite Escher print!

    Except apparently it's not..... it's named for Theodor Escherich. ( http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/sci/A0817668.html )

    Bummer.