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In
a first-of-its-kind
“atlas,” researchers identified and described the links
between 35 different types of cancer and their associated fungi. Though the findings, published in the science
journal Cell
last month, do not prove a cause-and-effect relationship between the two,
they could help scientists discover more about the role fungal microorganisms
play in the disease.
“The existence of fungi in most human cancers is both a surprise
and to be expected,” Rob Knight, the study‘s co-author and a
professor in the department of pediatrics at UC San Diego School of Medicine,
said in a news release.
“It is surprising because we don’t know how fungi could get into tumors
throughout the body,” Knight continued. “But it is also expected because it
fits the pattern of healthy microbiomes throughout the body, including the
gut, mouth, and skin, where bacteria and fungi interact as part of a complex
community.”
Dr. Ravid Straussman, another one of the study’s co-authors and a principal
investigator at the Weizmann Institute of Science, added that identifying the
fungi within the tumor cells “should drive us to better explore their
potential effects and re-examine almost everything we know about cancer
through a microbiome lens.”
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