A bacterial mutational footprint in colorectal cancer genomes.

Changes in the microbiome are associated with the development of colorectal cancer, but causal explanations have been lacking. We recently demonstrated that pks Escherichia coli induce a specific mutational pattern using intestinal organoids and these mutations are present in the genomes of colorectal cancer. This finding warrants further studies on the microbial role in oncogenic mutation induction, cancer development and future preventive strategies.