Research Reveals Surprising Gut-Breast Cancer Link

You may have heard of the gut-brain connection. But you may not know there's a gut-breast connection, too. UVA Cancer Center researchers shed light on this relationship. Here's what they found: An unhealthy gut triggers changes in normal breast tissue. This helps breast cancer spread to other parts of the body.

This discovery could help scientists find ways to keep breast cancer from spreading in patients. Once it spreads, few women or men survive breast cancer.

This fascinating gut-breast cancer research makes us want to know more. We turned to the researchers to answer key questions.

What's Our Gut Microbiome?

The gut microbiome is the collection of tiny organisms like bacteria that naturally live inside us. They do a lot for our health. But they can be disrupted and become unhealthy by many things, including:

• Poor diet
• Long-term antibiotic use
• Obesity

How Does a Sick Gut Make Breast Cancer Spread?