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Fungi in cancer

Nature Reviews Cancer volume 24, pages 295–298 (2024)Cite this article

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Both the gut and the tumour microbiome are now established as crucial regulators of cancer phenotypes and have been implicated in cancer initiation, progression and therapy response. Although the role of bacteria in these processes is beginning to be unravelled, the relevance of fungi is only just emerging. In this Viewpoint, we asked experts to discuss the current knowledge on the mycobiome–cancer connection and share their opinion on how to best solve open questions.

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Acknowledgements

J.G.-P. is supported by a National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) award (K01AI143881). I.D.I. is supported by National Institute of Health (NIH) grants (DK113136, DK121977, AI163007) and the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust and is an Irma T. Hirschl Career Scientist, a Burrough Welcome Trust PATH fellow, a CIFAR program Fungal Kingdom: Threats and Opportunities fellow and a Cancer Research Institute Lloyd J. Old STAR fellow.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA

    Jessica Galloway-Peña

  2. Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, New York, NY, USA

    Iliyan D. Iliev

  3. Department of Clinical Cancer Prevention, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Austin, TX, USA

    Florencia McAllister

  4. Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Austin, TX, USA

    Florencia McAllister

  5. Cancer Genetics Program, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Austin, TX, USA

    Florencia McAllister

  6. Department of Immunology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Austin, TX, USA

    Florencia McAllister

Authors
  1. Jessica Galloway-Peña
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  2. Iliyan D. Iliev
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  3. Florencia McAllister
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Jessica Galloway-Peña, Iliyan D. Iliev or Florencia McAllister.

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Competing interests

J.G.-P. declares no competing interests. I.D.I. holds a provisional patent application in a cancer-related area. F.M. is a member of the scientific advisory board at Neologics Bio and is an inventor on a US patent application (PCT/US2020/026102) submitted by the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

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The contributors

Jessica Galloway-Peña is an assistant professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at Texas A&M University and a faculty member of the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Genetics and Genomics. She additionally holds an adjunct position in Genomic Medicine at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Her research focuses on the mechanisms by which the microbiome contributes to cancer-treatment response, toxicities and infection by antimicrobial-resistant microorganisms among immunocompromised individuals. Translational applications of her research include determining microbial (bacterial, fungal and viral), genetic and metabolic biomarkers for cancer-treatment outcomes. Through her research, she hopes to promote antimicrobial stewardship and microbial-conscious therapeutics.

Iliyan D. Iliev is an immunologist known for his work on mycobiota and mucosal immunity. His work highlights the importance of fungal commensalism in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, revealing strain-dependent mechanisms of host immunity modulation and the fungal connection to inflammatory diseases and neuroimmunity. His laboratory has elucidated essential immune pathways and recently identified tumour-associated fungal species in the GI tract.

Florencia McAllister is a physician–scientist immunologist who has made substantial contributions to the host–tumour interplay by unravelling events that contribute to tumorigenesis as well as mechanisms of immunosuppression. More recently her laboratory has identified tumour bacteria enriched in pancreatic cancer that can be modulated through gut microbial changes.

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Galloway-Peña, J., Iliev, I.D. & McAllister, F. Fungi in cancer. Nat Rev Cancer 24, 295–298 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41568-024-00665-y

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