Fusobacterium nucleatum infection is prevalent in human colorectal carcinoma.

An estimated 15% or more of the cancer burden worldwide is attributable to known infectious agents. We screened colorectal carcinoma and matched normal tissue specimens using RNA-seq followed by host sequence subtraction and found marked over-representation of Fusobacterium nucleatum sequences in tumors relative to control specimens. F. nucleatum is an invasive anaerobe that has been linked previously to periodontitis and appendicitis, but not to cancer. Fusobacteria are rare constituents of the fecal microbiota, but have been cultured previously from biopsies of inflamed gut mucosa. We obtained a Fusobacterium isolate from a frozen tumor specimen; this showed highest sequence similarity to a known gut mucosa isolate and was confirmed to be invasive. We verified overabundance of Fusobacterium sequences in tumor versus matched normal control tissue by quantitative PCR analysis from a total of 99 subjects (p = 2.5 × 10(-6)), and we observed a positive association with lymph node metastasis.

• Publication year

  2012

• Venue

  Genome Research

• Publication date

  2012-02-01

• Fields of study

  Biology, Medicine

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1101/gr.126516.111PMID 22009989PMCID PMC3266037
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• Genomic analysis identifies association of Fusobacterium with colorectal carcinoma.

  2012cited by this paper
• Fusobacterium nucleatum

  2011cited by this paper
• The Sensitivity of Massively Parallel Sequencing for Detecting Candidate Infectious Agents Associated with Human Tissue

  2011cited by this paper
• Invasive potential of gut mucosa‐derived fusobacterium nucleatum positively correlates with IBD status of the host

  2011cited by this paper
• The Inflammatory Microenvironment in Colorectal Neoplasia

  2011cited by this paper
• Towards the Human Colorectal Cancer Microbiome

  2011cited by this paper
• Fusobacterium nucleatum in periodontal health and disease.

  2011cited by this paper
• Fast and accurate long-read alignment with Burrows–Wheeler transform

  2010cited by this paper
• Lemierre syndrome: report of five new cases and literature review

  2010cited by this paper
• A Catalog of Reference Genomes from the Human Microbiome

  2010influential reference
• A human gut microbial gene catalogue established by metagenomic sequencing

  2010cited by this paper
• Engineering the perfect (bacterial) cancer therapy

  2010cited by this paper
• Ensembl 2011

  2010influential reference
• Somatic mutation of EZH2 (Y641) in Follicular and Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphomas of Germinal Center Origin

  2010cited by this paper
• Canadian Tumour Repository Network

  2010cited by this paper
• Clonal Integration of a Polyomavirus in Human Merkel Cell Carcinoma

  2009cited by this paper
• Acute appendicitis is characterised by local invasion with Fusobacterium nucleatum/necrophorum

  2009cited by this paper
• A human colonic commensal promotes colon tumorigenesis via activation of T helper type 17 T cell responses

  2009cited by this paper
• TLR2 sensing of F. nucleatum and S. sanguinis distinctly triggered gingival innate response.

  2009cited by this paper
• Mutational evolution in a lobular breast tumour profiled at single nucleotide resolution

  2009cited by this paper
• Phenotypic and genotypic analyses of clinical Fusobacterium nucleatum and Fusobacterium periodonticum isolates from the human gut.

  2008cited by this paper
• Clonal Integration of a Polyomavirus in Human Merkel Cell Carcinoma

  2008cited by this paper
• A rare presentation of ventriculitis and brain abscess caused by Fusobacterium nucleatum.

  2008cited by this paper
• DNA copy-number analysis in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia reveals aberrations in genes involved in glutamate signaling.

  2006cited by this paper
• Advantage of Using Inosine at the 3′ Termini of 16S rRNA Gene Universal Primers for the Study of Microbial Diversity

  2006cited by this paper
• The global health burden of infection‐associated cancers in the year 2002

  2006cited by this paper
• Assembling millions of short DNA sequences using SSAKE

  2006influential reference
• Multiplex PCR using conserved and species-specific 16S rDNA primers for simultaneous detection of Fusobacterium nucleatum and Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans

  2004cited by this paper
• Fusobacterial brain abscess: a review of five cases and an analysis of possible pathogenesis.

  2003cited by this paper
• Identification of foreign gene sequences by transcript filtering against the human genome

  2002cited by this paper
• A genomic screen for genes upregulated by demethylation and histone deacetylase inhibition in human colorectal cancer

  2002cited by this paper
• Inducible Expression of Human β-Defensin 2 byFusobacterium nucleatum in Oral Epithelial Cells: Multiple Signaling Pathways and Role of Commensal Bacteria in Innate Immunity and the Epithelial Barrier

  2000cited by this paper
• Interactions between Periodontal Bacteria and Human Oral Epithelial Cells: Fusobacterium nucleatum Adheres to and Invades Epithelial Cells

  2000cited by this paper
• Comparison of the microbiota of supra- and subgingival plaque in health and periodontitis.

  2000cited by this paper
• Attachment of Fusobacterium nucleatum PK1594 to mammalian cells and its coaggregation with periodontopathogenic bacteria are mediated by the same galactose-binding adhesin.

  2000cited by this paper
• Base-calling of automated sequencer traces using phred. I. Accuracy assessment.

  1998cited by this paper
• Gapped BLAST and PSI-BLAST: a new generation of protein database search programs.

  1997cited by this paper
• Taxonomy, biology, and periodontal aspects of Fusobacterium nucleatum

  1996cited by this paper
• Genetic Alterations During Colorectal-Tumor Development

  1989cited by this paper
• Genetic alterations during colorectal-tumor development.

  1988cited by this paper
• Unidentified curved bacilli in the stomach of patients with gastritis and peptic ulceration.

  1984cited by this paper
• A statistical method for evaluating systematic relationships

  1958cited by this paper
• BIOINFORMATICS ORIGINAL PAPER

  year unknowncited by this paper

• Co-Metabolic Network Reveals the Metabolic Mechanism of Host–Microbiota Interplay in Colorectal Cancer

  2026cites this paper
• Causal association between periodontitis and systemic diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis of mendelian randomization studies

  2026cites this paper
• Advanced computational analysis in metagenomic studies to support precision medicine.

  2026cites this paper
• Distinct oral and fecal microbiota composition in preschool children with overweight/obesity: a cross-sectional study

  2026cites this paper
• Associations of epidemiologic risk factors with Fusobacterium nucleatum and bacterial alpha diversity in the colorectal tumor-associated microbiota

  2026cites this paper
• Gut microbiota and the colorectal cancer tumor microenvironment: From carcinogenic mechanisms to therapeutic opportunities

  2026cites this paper
• Periodontal disease-associated oral and gut microbiome changes in female rheumatoid arthritis patients.

  2026cites this paper
• Nocturnal Melatonin Deficiency in Colorectal Cancer: Independent Predictive Value Beyond Sleep Quality

  2026cites this paper
• Gut microbiome–driven colorectal cancer via immune, metabolic, neural, and endocrine axes reprogramming

  2026cites this paper
• The Oral Microbiota: Implications in Mucosal Health and Systemic Disease—Crosstalk with Gut and Brain

  2026cites this paper
• The Role of the Microbiota in Cancer Drug Resistance and Emerging Therapeutic Strategies.

  2026cites this paper
• Research Progress on the Association between Periodontitis and Colorectal Cancer

  2026cites this paper
• Deciphering the intratumor microbiota in malignant gastrointestinal tumors: multifaceted interplay and clinical implications

  2026cites this paper
• Autoimmunity and Periodontitis.

  2026cites this paper
• Role and mechanism of gut microbiota in regulating interferon-mediated programmed cell death in colorectal cancer

  2026cites this paper
• Altered Crosstalk of Bacterial Lipopolysaccharide with Immune Cells in Colorectal Cancer Compared to Paired Adjacent Intestinal Tissue

  2026cites this paper
• Modelling Fusobacterium lifestyles transitions by integrating transcriptomics and growth data.

  2026cites this paper
• Indole Profiles Define Disease-Specific Virulence in Fusobacterium nucleatum Clinical Isolates

  2026cites this paper
• Reliable detection of Host-Microbe Signatures in cancer using PRISM.

  2026cites this paper
• Crosstalk Between Intratumoral Microbes and Tumor Immunity: Implications for Tumor Therapy

  2026cites this paper
• Revisiting the Warburg-Based “Sugar Feeds Cancer” Hypothesis: A Critical Appraisal of Epidemiological, Experimental and Mechanistic Evidence

  2026cites this paper
• Microbiome modulation of tumorigenesis and immune responses

  2026cites this paper
• Transcriptomic integration and functional validation reveal PLAC8, CLCA4, and ADAMDEC1 as key biomarkers linking periodontitis and colorectal cancer

  2026cites this paper
• Detection and Relative Quantification of Fusobacterium Nucleatum in Head and Neck Cancers

  2026cites this paper
• The Vesicular Intersection Layer: A Framework for Cross-Kingdom Extracellular Vesicle Signaling That May Connect Gut Dysbiosis to Skeletal Muscle Wasting in Colorectal Cancer Cachexia

  2026cites this paper
• INTESTINAL MICROBIOTA MUTUALISM AND GASTROINTESTINAL DISEASES

  2026cites this paper
• Critical assessment of intratumor and low-biomass microbiome using long-read sequencing

  2026cites this paper
• Fusobacterium nucleatum: ecology, pathogenesis and clinical implications

  2025cites this paper
• Identification and predictive machine learning model construction of gut microbiota associated with carcinoembryonic antigens in colorectal cancer

  2025cites this paper
• Whole-genome sequencing and analysis of a novel strain Streptococcus oralis CRC211 from colorectal tumor

  2025cites this paper
• Demystifying the link between periodontitis and oral cancer: a systematic review integrating clinical, pre-clinical, and in vitro data

  2025cites this paper
• Emerging Understanding of Gut Microbiome in Colorectal Cancer and Food-Related Intervention Strategies

  2025cites this paper
• Clinical Detection and Management of Colorectal Cancer Concerning the Gut Microbiome

  2025cites this paper
• Effects of Waxy Maize Starch and Malate-Debranched Waxy Maize Starch on Gut Microbiota of Humans In Vitro and Mice In Vivo

  2025cites this paper
• The gut microbiota protein BOC1 exhibits immune checkpoint inhibitor-like activity by inhibiting myeloid-derived suppressor cell differentiation

  2025cites this paper
• Potential Pathogens Associated with Colorectal Cancer.

  2025cites this paper
• Fusobacterium nucleatum and Gastric Cancer: An Emerging Connection

  2025cites this paper
• Conjugation-based genetic manipulation of Fusobacterium animalis

  2025cites this paper
• Cancer and microbiome-targeted therapies.

  2025cites this paper
• Lipid accumulation inhibition strategies alleviate Fusobacterium nucleatum-infected colorectal cancer

  2025cites this paper
• The gut-tumor connection: the role of microbiota in cancer progression and treatment strategies.

  2025cites this paper
• Fecal microbiota transplantation to enhance cancer treatment outcomes across different cancer types: A systematic literature review.

  2025cites this paper
• A cross-sectional study of the gut microbiota associated with urinary and serum equol production status in a general population of Japanese men

  2025cites this paper
• Fusobacterium nucleatum: strategies for adapting to aerobic stress

  2025influential citation
• Fusobacterium nucleatum promotes metastasis of breast cancer via the miR-21-3p/FOXO3 axis

  2025cites this paper
• Periodontitis as a field of cancerization: association with carcinoembryonic antigen in colorectal cancer patients

  2025cites this paper
• Analysis of Microbiome for AP and CRC Discrimination

  2025cites this paper
• The cancer microbiome.

  2025cites this paper
• Secretory IgA dysfunction underlies poor prognosis in Fusobacterium-infected colorectal cancer

  2025cites this paper
• The Impact of Fusobacterium nucleatum and the Genotypic Biomarker KRAS on Colorectal Cancer Pathogenesis

  2025cites this paper
• Role of Fusobacterium nucleatum in the pathogenesis of oral squamous cell carcinoma: A systematic review of molecular mechanisms and signalling pathways.

  2025cites this paper
• The Oral–Gut Microbiota Axis Across the Lifespan: New Insights on a Forgotten Interaction

  2025cites this paper
• Recent Advances in Nanomedicine for Modulating Intratumoral Bacteria in Cancer Therapy.

  2025cites this paper
• Investigating the Impact of Fusobacterium nucleatum on Oxidative Stress, Chemoresistance, and Inflammation in Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Colorectal Cancer: Rationale and Design of a Clinical Trial

  2025cites this paper
• Exploring the Microbiome in Breast Cancer: The Role of Fusobacterium nucleatum as an Onco-Immune Modulator

  2025cites this paper
• Intratumoral core microbiota predicts prognosis and therapeutic response in gastrointestinal cancers

  2025cites this paper
• Bacteria-Based Roles in Solid Tumors: Potential for Prevention and Treatment

  2025cites this paper
• Colorectal cancer chemoprevention: Exploring the path from molecular mechanisms to available drugs.

  2025cites this paper
• The multi-kingdom cancer microbiome

  2025cites this paper
• Binding of Fusobacterium nucleatum autotransporter adhesin CbpF to human CEACAM1 and CEACAM5: A Velcro model for bacterium adhesion.

  2025cites this paper
• Tumor-associated microbiota: Multi-cancer landscape, mechanistic insights and clinical translation (Review)

  2025cites this paper
• Comparison of Pre‐ and Postoperative Gut Microbiota Diversity in Patients With Rectal Cancer Undergoing Stoma Creation and Closure

  2025cites this paper
• Recent drug delivery systems targeting the gut-brain-microbiome axis for the management of chronic diseases.

  2025cites this paper
• Dietary Manipulation on Gut Microbiome in Patients with Diabetes and Colorectal cancer

  2025cites this paper
• Exploring the complex interplay between oral Fusobacterium nucleatum infection, periodontitis, and robust microRNA induction, including multiple known oncogenic miRNAs

  2025cites this paper
• Fusobacterium nucleatum is enriched in invasive biofilms in colorectal cancer

  2025cites this paper
• Highly sensitive DNA testing of Fusobacterium nucleatum (Fn) in colorectal tumors.

  2025cites this paper
• Oral and intratumoral microbiota influence tumor immunity and patient survival

  2025cites this paper
• Bacterial translocation signatures and subgingival microbiome in individuals with periodontitis

  2025cites this paper
• The human microbiome: redefining cancer pathogenesis and therapy

  2025cites this paper
• The Microbiome and Cancer: A Translational Science Review.

  2025cites this paper
• Heterogeneity of Intratumoral Microbiota Within the Tumor Microenvironment and Relationship to Tumor Development

  2025cites this paper
• Influence of Citrobacter freundii on NINJ2 Expression and Oxaliplatin Resistance in Colorectal Cancer

  2025cites this paper
• Epigenetic Modulation, Intra-tumoral Microbiome and Immunity in Early Onset Colorectal Cancer

  2025cites this paper
• Intratumoural pks+Escherichia coli is associated with risk of metachronous colorectal cancer and adenoma development in people with Lynch syndrome

  2025cites this paper
• The role of Fusobacterium nucleatum in macrophage M2 polarization and NF-κB pathway activation in colorectal cancer

  2025cites this paper
• Integrated spatial multi‐omics profiling of Fusobacterium nucleatum in breast cancer unveils its role in tumour microenvironment modulation and cancer progression

  2025cites this paper
• The physical biogeography of Fusobacterium nucleatum in health and disease

  2025cites this paper
• Unveiling the complex extra‐oral colonization pathways and pathogenic mechanisms of Fusobacterium nucleatum, a heterogeneous oral pathogen

  2025cites this paper
• Microbiome and fragmentation pattern of blood cell-free DNA and fecal metagenome enhance colorectal cancer micro-dysbiosis and diagnosis analysis: a proof-of-concept study

  2025cites this paper
• An interplay between human genetics and intratumoral microbiota in the progression of colorectal cancer.

  2025cites this paper
• A pilot study of gut mucosal and faecal microbiota in rectal cancer: associations with histological response and adverse events following preoperative chemoradiotherapy

  2025cites this paper
• The Involvement of Oral Pathogenic Bacteria, Fusobacterium nucleatum Subspecies animalis in the Pathogenesis of Human Esophageal Adenocarcinoma

  2025cites this paper
• Seaweeds as emerging functional foods and therapeutics for colorectal cancer management

  2025cites this paper
• The current status and prospects of gut microbiota combined with PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors in the treatment of colorectal cancer: a review

  2025cites this paper
• Association of Fusobacterium nucleatum with colorectal cancer molecular subtypes and its outcome: a systematic review

  2025cites this paper
• The Role of Microbiota in Upper Gastrointestinal Cancers

  2025cites this paper
• Bridging oral and systemic health: exploring pathogenesis, biomarkers, and diagnostic innovations in periodontal disease

  2025influential citation
• Cancer microbiota: a focus on tumor-resident bacteria

  2025cites this paper
• Different impacts of intestinal microbiota and lifestyle factors on advanced adenoma and colorectal cancer risk.

  2025cites this paper
• Addressing controversy in Fusobacterium nomenclature: what exactly does “F. nucleatum” refer to?

  2025cites this paper
• Assessment of plasma derived microbiome profiles in lung cancer using targeted and whole exome sequencing

  2025cites this paper
• The rise and evolving role of Fusobacterium nucleatum subspecies

  2025cites this paper
• Characteristics of gut microbiota in high-methylated colorectal cancer

  2025cites this paper
• The Anti-Inflammatory, Immunomodulatory, and Pro-Autophagy Activities of Probiotics for Colorectal Cancer Prevention and Treatment: A Narrative Review

  2025cites this paper
• Enhancing fibroblast–epithelial cell communications: Serpine2 as a key molecule in Fusobacterium nucleatum–promoted colon cancer

  2025cites this paper
• Emerging risk factors and the role of gut microbiota in immunomodulation and therapeutic implications in colorectal cancer

  2025cites this paper
• Introduction to microbiomes in health and diseases.

  2025cites this paper
• A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Animal Models on the Possible Link Between Periodontitis and Inflammatory Bowel Diseases.

  2025cites this paper
• Fusobacterium nucleatum Enrichment in Colorectal Tumor Tissue: Associations With Tumor Characteristics and Survival Outcomes

  2025cites this paper