Analysis of persistence and antibiotic response in colorectal cancer.

Colorectal cancers comprise a complex mixture of malignant cells, nontransformed cells, and microorganisms. is among the most prevalent bacterial species in colorectal cancer tissues. Here we show that colonization of human colorectal cancers with and its associated microbiome-including , , and species-is maintained in distal metastases, demonstrating microbiome stability between paired primary and metastatic tumors. In situ hybridization analysis revealed that is predominantly associated with cancer cells in the metastatic lesions. Mouse xenografts of human primary colorectal adenocarcinomas were found to retain viable and its associated microbiome through successive passages. Treatment of mice bearing a colon cancer xenograft with the antibiotic metronidazole reduced load, cancer cell proliferation, and overall tumor growth. These observations argue for further investigation of antimicrobial interventions as a potential treatment for patients with -associated colorectal cancer.