New research is suggesting a strong association between mouth bacteria and gastric cancer.

The study, published in the journal Cell Reports Medicine, examined the gut microbiome in stool and oral microbiome from saliva and the tongue.

The China-based researchers with BGI Genomics analyzed 404 samples from Chinese patients with gastric cancer in one group, and chronic gastritis in another.

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Gut microbes were different in gastric cancer, the researchers found, unveiling 28 varying gut species. 

Most were oral bacteria, including Streptococcus — bacteria that can sometimes cause strep throat — lactobacillus and other lactic acid bacteria.

The study found oral bacteria in gastric cancer patients matched gut bacteria, suggesting transmission. (iStock)

Twenty oral-gut species were found in both saliva and stool and were more common in the gut of gastric cancer patients.

The findings suggest the transmission of these bacteria from mouth to gut, after finding that the oral bacteria matched closely to the gut bacteria in the same person, according to genetic comparisons.

The researchers suggest that saliva and stool samples could help indicate patterns that are linked to stomach cancer, although more research is required before testing is ready for clinical use.

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“Collectively, these findings underscore the critical role of the oral-gut microbiome axis in [gastric cancer],” the researchers concluded in the study publication.

Since this is a cross-sectional analysis, the results cannot prove that these bacteria cause cancer, but they do suggest a strong association.

The new study results cannot prove that these bacteria cause cancer — but the results do suggest a strong association, the researchers said.  (iStock)

Dr. Brian Slomovitz, director of gynecologic oncology and co-chair of the Cancer Research Committee at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, Florida, talked about the “initiator-promoter” model of this study in an interview with Fox News Digital.

“[The study] demonstrates how the microbiome of one area of the body can migrate and affect the ability of cancers to develop in another part of the body,” said Slomovitz, who was not involved in the new study. 

“It is very important that we work toward a healthy microbiome in the gut to decrease the risk of inflammation and cancer.”

“The initiator in gastric cancers is usually inflammatory, such as H.pylori infection,” he continued. 

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“This inflammation leads to damaged mucosal cells where the lactic acid-producing bacteria can colonize. This helps to explain why cancers still develop even after treating H. pylori infection.”

The new findings could be applied to using the saliva for early cancer detection, Slomovitz suggested, which may help identify the disease even in pre-cancer states.

“There is a correlation between the bacteria found in the gut and neurogenerative disease and increased cancer risk,” said a top physician. 

“Perhaps we will learn that by altering the microbiome, we can help better treat cancers (in combination with immunotherapy or chemotherapy) or even prevent cancer,” he said. 

“These results will build a foundation for future research. However, we are not ready to incorporate this into clinical practice.”

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Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel also weighed in separately on the study, noting that awareness around the importance of the gut microbiome on overall health has been growing.

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“There is a correlation between the bacteria found in the gut and neurogenerative disease and increased cancer risk,” he told Fox News Digital. 

“It is very important that we work toward a healthy microbiome in the gut to decrease the risk of inflammation and cancer.”

A brutal brawl broke out during a La Liga 2 match in Spain on Sunday.

Zaragoza and Huesca were in the final minutes of their match when Zaragoza goalkeeper Esteban Andrada shoved Huesca defender Jorge Pulido to the ground. Andrada was addressing the official in the middle of the pitch when Pulido came over to talk to him.

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Esteban Andrada of Monterrey stands on the pitch during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 round of 16 match against Borussia Dortmund at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga., on July 1, 2025. (Andrew J. Clark/ISI Photos)

Andrada was given his second yellow card of the match at the time. After the shove, he was shown a red card as members from both teams tried to get rising temperatures under control.

Andrada then made a break for Pulido and hit him with a brutal right hand. Pulido went down and players from both teams swarmed the 6-foot-4 goalie.

Huesca goalkeeper Dani Jimenéz and Zaragoza’s Dani Tasende were also sent off after the fight.

Huesca eventually won the match, 1-0.

Andrada released a statement through the club’s social media, apologizing for his actions.

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Jorge Pulido of SD Huesca looks on during the La Liga Hypermotion match against RC Deportivo La Coruna at Estadio Abanca Riazor in A Coruna, Spain, on Feb. 23, 2025. (Jose Manuel Alvarez Rey/JAR Sport Images/NurPhoto)

“I really regret what happened,” he said, via The Athletic. “It’s not a good image for the club, for the people or for a professional like me. I really regret it. Throughout my career, I’ve only been sent off once (before) when I handled the ball outside the area and you can see from my career path that it was an extreme situation where I crossed the line and I reacted like that.

“But I really regret it and I wouldn’t do it again because I know I’m a public figure, a professional with a career of many years. I also said sorry to Jorge Pulido because we’re colleagues and it was an action from me where I disconnected in that moment. I’m here for the consequences from the league or, if they want me to go and give explanations, I’m available for that.”

Huesca accepted Andrada’s apology and condemned the fight.

Esteban Andrada of CF Monterrey reacts during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 round of 16 match against Borussia Dortmund at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 1, 2025. (Alex Grimm/Getty Images)

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La Liga 2 is the second-tier division of La Liga. Huesca is 19th in the table and Zaragoza is 21st.

Monte Coleman, a three-time Super Bowl champion who played 16 years in the NFL, has died, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and the Washington Commanders announced. He was 68.

Coleman was a standout at Central Arkansas before the Washington Redskins selected him in the 11th round of the 1979 NFL Draft.

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Washington Redskins linebacker Monte Coleman runs with the ball during the 1983 NFC Championship game against the San Francisco 49ers at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 8, 1984. The Redskins defeated the 49ers 24-21. (Malcolm Emmons/USA TODAY Sports)

“Monte Coleman was one of the greatest players in Washington history,” Commanders owner Josh Harris said in a statement. “He was one of the pillars of our championship defenses having played for all three Super Bowl-winning teams. His durability and leadership set the standard for what it meant to suit up for the Burgundy & Gold.”

He later joined Arkansas Pine-Bluff as a linebackers and took over as head coach in 2008. He was at the school for 10 years and helped the team to a Southwestern Athletic Conference championship in 2012.

NFL legend Monte Coleman announces a selection for the Washington Football Team during the second round of the NFL draft on April 29, 2021, in Cleveland. (Gregory Payan/AP)

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“Coach Coleman represented everything we strive for at UAPB,” athletic director Chris Robinson said. “Excellence, integrity, and a relentless commitment to developing our student-athletes. His legacy is not only written in championships and honors, but in the lives he changed every single day.”

Coleman played his entire 16-year career with Washington. He led the NFL in tackles once – in 1980 when he had 118 during the season.

In 215 games, he had 49.5 sacks, 1,002 total tackles, 17 interceptions and four defensive touchdowns.

Arkansas-Pine Bluff head coach Monte Coleman argues a call during the first half of the SWAC championship football game against Jackson State at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala., on Dec. 8, 2012. (Dave Martin/AP)

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He was on the Redskins’ Super Bowl teams in 1982, 1987 and 1991.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

As Xavier Becerra looks to move up the polls in the Democratic primary for governor, one of the biggest controversies shadowing his record is the scandal involving missing migrant children during his tenure as Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

The scandal stemmed from the massive surge of immigrants, specifically unaccompanied minor children. Shelters became so full that these children were forced to stay in jail-like facilities run by federal immigration officials and eventually in massive tent cities set up in major metropolitan areas. 

The images of these children put pressure on the Biden administration to do something, so they reportedly began imposing demands on staffers to begin moving kids quickly out of the shelters and to their sponsors meant to protect the kids from human trafficking or other forms of exploitation, according to a scathing investigation by the New York Times published in Feb. 2023.

“If Henry Ford had seen this in his plants, he would have never become famous and rich. This is not the way you do an assembly line,” Becerra told HHS staff, according to the Times, even as HHS was beginning to peel back longstanding protections that had been in place for years, such as certain background checks and reviews of children’s’ files.

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Minor children rest inside a pod at the Donna Department of Homeland Security holding facility, the main detention center for unaccompanied children in the Rio Grande Valley, in Donna, Texas, on March 30, 2021. (Dario Lopez-Mills/Associated Press)

The comment from Becerra to ramp up the efficiency also came after nearly a dozen officials within the HHS division responsible for unaccompanied migrant children expressed concern that child labor trafficking was increasing, adding the system is “one that rewards individuals for making quick releases, and not one that rewards individuals for preventing unsafe releases,” according to the Times.

Data the Times obtained showed, over a period of two years, more than 85,000 children became unable to be tracked by federal officials. However, Becerra contested the unaccompanied minors had been “lost,” arguing they were in the custody of vetted sponsors, but just did not pick up the phone when officials made their follow-up calls. Becerra and his supporters also pointed out amid pushback over the matter that HHS’s legal authority over a child ends once they are placed with a sponsor.

A campaign staffer with Becerra’s team added that the HHS Secretary worked diligently to fix a broken immigration system inherited by Trump, suggesting the blame did not fall at Becerra’s feet.

Meanwhile, in February 2024, HHS’s Office of Inspector General indicated it had indeed found gaps in sponsor screening and follow-up, including missing documentation for required safety checks in 16% of sampled case files and untimely or undocumented follow-up calls in many cases. 

At the time those findings were released, the HHS OIG already found in 2022 that guidance issued to speed releases had removed safeguards and may have increased the risk of releases to unsafe sponsors.

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HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra testified during the Senate Finance Committee hearing on the President’s fiscal year 2025 Health and Human Services budget in the Dirksen building on March 14, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc)

A few months after the Times’ reporting, Republicans in the House subpoenaed Becerra and HHS for records and documents related to the “vetting, screening and monitoring” of sponsors for migrant children. Republicans received hundreds of pages of documents, but argued none were responsive to their concerns before eventually hauling him to Capitol Hill for a hearing.

After House Republicans ordered HHS to produce records by Oct. 3, 2024, the dispute never culminated in a clean public resolution — committees kept complaining the production was incomplete, Becerra was called back to testify, and later watchdog reports — rather than Congress’ subpoena — became the clearest answer on whether the government was reliably tracking unaccompanied minors entering the United States.

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“Xavier Becerra failed those kids, failed the country, and failed to do his job,” a Democratic Party campaign strategist told Fox News Digital under the condition of anonymity.

“Becerra was horrible at HHS, and thinking he can become Governor of California after that record is delusional,” the Democratic strategist continued. “Voters deserve better than a recycled cabinet secretary who couldn’t manage his own department.”