Women with few friendly bacteria in the vagina are more likely to get ovarian cancer

Research suggests that women with fewer friendly bacteria in their vaginas are at higher risk for ovarian cancer.

One study found that women with the disease had fewer strains of Lactobacilli in their genitals.

And those who carried the BRCA1 gene, which increases the risk of ovarian cancer up to 42 times more, also had lower bacteria levels.

Lactobacilli are essential for maintaining the acidic pH of the vagina, which helps prevent "bad" bacteria from causing infections.

Many women with a family history of ovarian cancer use the removal of their ovaries to reduce their risk of getting the disease, thus rendering them sterile.

The researchers hope their "mouth-watering" study will lead to a smear-like test that will detect a woman's cancer risk through her bacterial levels, thus helping her to avoid surgery.

A suppository could even be developed for women at risk to put in their vaginas to increase its number of bacteria, they add.

The research was conducted by University College London and led by Professor Martin Widschwendter, Department of Women's Cancer.

"This is the first time that we are able to demonstrate that the vaginal microbiome of women with gene mutations is changing," said Professor Widschwendter.

"This new approach could revolutionize the way we can intervene and change the implications of a high risk of developing ovarian cancer."

He told the BBC: "We still do not know for sure if low levels of beneficial bacteria carry an increased risk of ovarian cancer, but that's what we suspect.

"This corresponds to other research. It has been shown that women who use an excessive amount of vaginal hygiene products also have lower levels of this bacterium and they are at increased risk of ovarian cancer.

Every year in the UK, about 7,300 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer, according to Ovarian Cancer Statistics.

And in the United States, 22,530 women should be informed that they have the disease in 2019, according to the American Cancer Society.

Symptoms tend to be vague and include bloating, satiety, and abdominal discomfort. This makes the disease difficult to diagnose, with many cases being detected only once it has spread.

Unlike breast cancer and cervical cancer, there is no program screening for ovarian forms of the disease in the United Kingdom or the United States. This is due to the lack of reliable test.

To determine if vaginal bacteria had an effect on risk, the researchers analyzed cervical cancer swabs collected from 580 women living in the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy or Norway.

Some of the women aged 18 to 87 years old had recently been diagnosed with ovarian cancer or were carriers of the BRCA1 gene.

The rest of the participants had neither cancer nor BRCA1 abnormal and acted as a control of the study.

BRCA1 produces proteins that repair damaged DNA, thereby suppressing the formation of tumors. If the gene is mutated, these proteins are not manufactured or do not work properly.

According to the National Cancer Institute, about 44% of women who inherit a harmful mutation from BRCA1 will develop ovarian cancer, compared to only 1.3% of the general population.

The results – published in The Lancet Oncology – revealed that 60% of women with ovarian cancer had less than half of their vaginal microbiome populated with lactobacilli.

This is compared to low-risk women whose vaginal microbiome was dominated by the bacteria.

The results also showed that women with a "defective" BRCA1 gene had almost three times less lactobacilli than those without a genetic mutation.

More than a quarter of women under the age of 30 with the genetic mutation had low levels of bacteria.

This is compared to none of the under 30s without a defective BRCA1.

Participants who had close family members with ovarian cancer also had fewer lactobacilli.

Many women with a family history of cancer, or those who know they have the BRCA mutation, have the ovaries and fallopian tubes removed at a young age.

Although this prevents ovarian cancer from developing, it leaves women infertile and can trigger an early menopause.

The researchers hope that by using lactobacilli as an indicator of a woman's cancer risk, a greater number of them will be able to postpone the operation and preserve their fertility.

Athena Lamnisos, CEO of Eve Appeal, said, "As a woman at high risk of developing cancer, you face a difficult choice: having a life-changing surgery to reduce your risk.

"This decision is not easy for many women, which affects their fertility, it is early menopause and having surgery.

"This research is an exciting step forward in understanding the factors that may affect cancer development, but most importantly, in developing interventions that can reduce this risk.

"If it can be done with something as simple as adjusting the vaginal microbiome, it changes the game."

The researchers hope to conduct further studies to determine if introducing healthy bacteria into a woman's vagina reduces her risk of developing ovarian cancer.

This could be as simple as regularly using a vaginal suppository.

Dr. Adam Rosenthal, director of the gynecological cancer family clinic of the NHS Hospital UCL Hospital Foundation, said, "This study raises the fascinating possibility that a simple tablet placed in the vagina can prevent cancer from developing." 39; ovary. "

Researchers will first examine whether "unwanted" bacteria are found in the fallopian tubes, where most ovarian cancers develop.

Alexandra Holden, director of communications at Target Ovarian Cancer, added, "Anything that helps to better understand the causes of ovarian cancer needs to be greeted enthusiastically.

"Before women worry about the presence of bacteria in their vaginas, further research is needed to better understand how the vaginal microbiome could contribute to ovarian cancer and find better ways to detect this." disease.

"In the meantime, it is essential that women are aware of the symptoms and go to the attending physician to express their concerns."

The Minister of Public Health, Seema Kennedy, said she was "delighted" with this new research, the first to be funded by the government tax on tampons.

"We are committed to preventing and diagnosing cancer earlier as part of our long-term plan for the NHS," she said.

"This new research will be vital to improving our understanding of risk factors for women.

"It's just one of the many innovative women's health programs made possible by the tampon tax, and I'm looking forward to seeing other such interesting work in the near future." to come up."