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Abstract
Helicobacter pylori highlighted the potential for bacteria to cause cancer. It is
becoming clear that chronic infection with other bacteria, notably Salmonella typhi,
can also facilitate tumour development. Infections caused by several bacteria (e.g.
Bartonella spp., Lawsonia intracellularis and Citrobacter rodentium) can induce cellular
proliferation that can be reversed by antibiotic treatment. Other chronic bacterial
infections have the effect of blocking apoptosis. However, the underlying cellular
mechanisms are far from clear. Conversely, several bacterial toxins interfere with
cellular signalling mechanisms in a way that is characteristic of tumour promoters.
These include Pasteurella multocida toxin, which uniquely acts as a mitogen, and Escherichia
coli cytotoxic necrotizing factor, which activates Rho family signalling. This leads
to activation of COX2, which is involved in several stages of tumour development,
including inhibition of apoptosis. Such toxins could provide valuable models for bacterial
involvement in cancer, but more significantly they could play a direct role in cancer
causation and progression.