Interesting finding: Finding a bacterium can help prevent skin cancer

Scientists say a skin bacterium - often found on healthy human skin - can help protect against skin cancer.

Richard Gallo, a professor at the University of California San Diego, said: "We have identified a strain of bacteria called Staphylococcus epidermidis, common on healthy human skin, able to selectively inhibit development of some types of cancer ".

This unique type of skin bacteria produces a chemical that kills some types of cancer cells but does not poison normal cells.

The team found that S. epidermidis produced a 6-N-hydroxyaminopurine chemical compound (6-HAP).

Rats with S.epidermidis on the skin that did not produce 6-HAP had many skin tumors after exposure to ultraviolet rays causing cancer, but mice with the S epidermidis strain produced 6-HAP. then there is no tumor.

6-HAP is a molecule that weakens the production of DNA, called DNA synthesis, and prevents the spread of modified tumor cells as well as being able to prevent tumor growth. Skin caused by ultraviolet rays.

Experimental mice were injected intravenously with 6-HAP every 48 hours during the two-week period without a clear toxic reaction, but when transplanted into melanoma cells, the tumor size was more than 50% reduction compared to non-implanted tumor group.

"There is a lot of evidence that skin bacteria are an important factor in human health. In fact, we have previously reported that some bacteria on the skin can create antibacterial substances against Pathogenic bacteria like Staph aureus, "Gallo said.

According to Gallo, in the case of S. epidermidis, it also seems to be able to fight some other types of cancer.

According to Gallo, more research is needed to understand how 6-HAP is produced, if it can be used to prevent cancer.

More than one million cases of skin cancer are diagnosed in the United States each year. More than 95% of them are skin cancer often due to excessive exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays.

Melanoma is the most serious type of skin cancer that starts in the skin cells that produce pigments, called white blood cells.