On Thursday, August 1, a press conference was held at University of Split’s School of Medicine, where the head of Croatian team, prof. Janoš Terzić Ph.D. described how he and his colleagues demonstrated a new way of tumor formation. Although the research was conducted on mice, prof. Terzić and his colleagues showed that humans also have bacteria that turn chemicals into dangerous carcinogens:
- The mechanism works so that bacteria in the intestines turn the nitro-substitute compound into an even more dangerous chemical that is deposited in the bladder tissue and induces cancer. Our finding suggests that this may have translational potential, but further studies are needed to confirm. We found that different people have different amounts of bacteria that convert this chemical, which means we differ in our potential to convert that chemical into something very dangerous. Depending on the bacteria we have, we are prone to different tumors. This may have clinical implications as we can be tested in advance to know our level of risk. Also, future interventions are possible, such as eliminating these bacteria with antibiotics, in order to reduce risk of tumors in people who are more prone to converting chemicals - Prof. Terzic said.
Prof. Igor Jerković Ph.D., University of Split’s Vice-rector for science and quality at the, is happy that this extremely important work was done at University of Split. Its exceptional success represents the best gift for University of Split’s 50th anniversary:
- Remembering back, we published our first paper 1979 in Web of Science journals. By 2009, we reached the world average, and in the last five years, approximately half of our papers have a place in world best journals! With this success, we prove that our University performs top-notch research. I would especially point out prof. Terzić and his great team from School of Medicine, whose contribution here is exceptional - vice-rector Jerković said.
As far as the University is concerned, this paper’s importance is not only symbolic, but will also help in placing the university on world rankings which measure scientific contribution.
- Our university is becoming more and more recognized as a center of excellence, and with this work we are setting new standards and opening doors to future generations of scientists - prof. Igor Jerkovic Ph.D. concluded.
More details about this research can be found at: https://www.embl.org/news/science-technology/gut-microbes-implicated-in-bladder-cancer/
