Lactobacillus plays an important role in preventing cervical cancer
Mar 14, 2025
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Cervical cancer is the fourth most common female cancer worldwide, with human papillomavirus (HPV) being the leading cause, with approximately 600,000 cases occurring every year. Although the incidence rate has plummeted in developed countries through vaccination, cervical cancer is still occurring frequently in underdeveloped countries where vaccination is difficult, raising the need for new prevention methods.
Lactobacillus is commonly known as the most beneficial bacterium present in the female vagina. Previously, only the effect of inhibiting cervical cancer cells that have already occurred was known, but the research team newly found that lactobacillus suppresses the progression of cancer in the pre-cancer stage.
In addition, the research team found that human papillomavirus is the main cause of cervical cancer by proliferating progenitor cells that have begun to differentiate rather than stem cells, and proved that lactobacillus secretes lactic acid to suppress the effectiveness of the virus and even to convert it into normal stem cells and cancer cells.
The research team found that lactobacilli play an important role in maintaining cervical health and preventing cervical cancer, and "We intend to contribute to the development of cervical cancer prevention technology and new treatments based on this in the future."
On the other hand, the research was carried out with various research support, including the Korea Research Foundation's mid-sized research and bio-medical technology development project, the Ministry of Health and Welfare's global doctor scientist training project, the Korea Institute of Basic Science's operation project of the Korea Virus Research Institute, and the hospital-based human microbiome research and development project jointly supported by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The research results were recently published in the global journal "Nature Communications".
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
