New Research Shows How Men Free Of Prostate Cancer Had Guts Fortified By Microbes Found In Yogurt

Yogurt has long been touted as a wonderful way to clear the gut and help it move towards having a healthier microbiome for most people, all due to the active cultures and probiotics that are usually found in it. And in an even more promising comparison study, it has been found that there is even more of an incentive to add some regular or Greek yogurt to your regular diet.

That’s because researchers have found that there is a significant difference in the gut microbiota of men that have been diagnosed with prostate cancer when compared to those who have had benign biopsies, or a negative result for cancer.

The human belly contains a collection of trillions of microorganisms that consist of both the good kind and the bad. And notably, the body’s immune system and other body processes are affected by the balance of these microorganisms found in the gastrointestinal tract, or GI tract.

In fact, whatever the state of the gut microbiota is can actually either help fuel tumor growth, as well as make them resistant to therapy. They are also linked to a number of other diseases, even with organs within the body that are far from the intestines and gut. But, the role this plays in prostate cancer is still not quite understood.

A group of scientists from the University of Turku in Finland took samples from patients in a clinical study. From 181 men who were suspected of prostate cancer, they sequenced their gut microbiota. These samples were also taken during the time of their prostate biopsies that were done after they took MRI scans.

From this number, 60 percent of the men were diagnosed with prostate cancer, and their gut microbiota profiles showed that they were significantly different from those that had benign biopsies.

As for the men with cancer, they had ‘increased levels of Prevotella 9, Erysipelotrichaceae and Escherichia-Shigella (bacteria that produces illness and diarrhea).’ Meanwhile, they also showed lower levels of the microbes ‘Jonquetella, Moryella, Anaeroglobus, Corynebacterium and CAG-352.’

Prostate cancer happens to be the most common male cancer all throughout the world, but considering they also has varying rates depending on where they are in the world, there is still little understood as to why that is. In most Western countries, it is actually known to be quite hereditary, but this is less so in other environments in other nations.

The study findings were presented at the annual congress European Association of Urology  (EAU22) in Amsterdam.

Member of the EAU22 Scientific Congress Committee of Urology and professor of Molecular Medicine at Aarhus University, Lars Dyrskjøt Andersen, said, “This is a striking finding from a well-conducted trial.”

He continued, “We should be careful with observed associations when it comes to complicated epidemiology, and no cause-and-effect measures can be determined based on this, but certainly the gut microbiota could be an important area to investigate further to enhance our understanding of prostate cancer risk.”

The study presenter, Professor Peter Bostrom, added, “More research is needed to look at the potential for using gut microbiota for both diagnostic and preventive strategies.”