A study carried out by experts from the Department of Dermatology at the University of San Diego, in California, United States, showed data that proves human skin is capable of generating bacteria that could potentially prevent and fight some cancer diseases.
The researchers discovered that the bacteria called Staphylococcus Epidermidis, often found in the healthy skin of some mammals (including human beings), has a chemical compound capable of slowing the formation and reproduction of cancer cells.
Similarly, scientific research found that the presence of the molecule 6-N-hydroxyaminopurine (6-HAP) helps prevent the development of skin tumors caused by ultraviolet light from the sun.
The experimentation was done with rats. The rodents whose skin surface contained the bacterium developed a substantially smaller number of tumors after being exposed to ultraviolet light.
In addition, for two weeks the authors applied intravenous injections with the bacteria to another group of rats that had previously been transplanted melanoma cells (the most aggressive form of skin cancer) and observed that the size of the tumors of these animals was reduced by more than 50%.
The study will help determine if the compound 6-HAP can be used as a means of preventing skin cancer in humans, as well as establishing risk of cancer diseases in patients whose skin has been devoid of that chemical compound.