Commensal Bacteria Can Drive Prostate Cancer Growth and Treatment Resistance

Common gut bacteria can fuel the growth of prostate cancers and allow them to evade the effects of treatment, a new study finds. Scientists revealed how gut bacteria contribute to the progression of advanced prostate cancers and their resistance to hormone therapy – by providing an alternative source of growth-promoting androgens, or male hormones. Hormone therapy is the standard of care for advanced prostate cancer and works by lowering levels of androgens. But researchers found that low androgen levels in patients can drive the expansion of gut bacteria, which can become hormone factories to sustain prostate cancer growth.

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