This Week in Microbiology

Antibiotic Bowel Prep Before Colon Cancer Surgery May Be Selecting for the Bacteria That Cause Recurrence

Antibiotic bowel prep before colon cancer surgery is meant to prevent infection; but in patients whose cancer recurs, the resistant bacteria in their gut are unfazed, and on the day of surgery their total bacterial load is 23 times higher than in non-recurring patients. The prep may be precisely what selects for future recurrence.