• Question: Does Bacteria cause Cancer and if so how???

    Asked by h3ather to Marianne on 15 Jun 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Marianne Baker

      Marianne Baker answered on 15 Jun 2010:

      Hi h3ather,

      The one example I can think of is Helicobacter pylori – a bacterium that causes stomach ulcers.
      If people are repeatedly infected with this bacterium, I think it can lead to stomach cancer.

      It’s more common that viruses cause cancer, because of the nature of their replication – how they copy themselves.

      Viruses have their own genomes, DNA or RNA-based genes inside them, that are like the blueprints for their construction.
      Some kinds of viruses put their DNA into cells and this then mixes with our DNA. Depending on where it slots in, it can cause problems that lead to cancer.
      Alternatively, some viruses’ genes make proteins that interfere with how our cells work and that can also set cancerous changes in motion.

      The most common examples are hepatitis viruses (can cause liver cancer), papilloma viruses (can cause cervical cancer). But that doesn’t mean that catching the virus will definitely give you cancer, or that liver/cervical cancer is always caused by viral infections!

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