Blood Test For Fungi in Tumors Could Offer New Method of Cancer Detection, 'Eye-Opening’ Study Shows

Until now, there has been limited research on fungi in tumors, with scientists assuming that their occurrence was rare in cancerous tissue.

Screening blood samples for telltale signs of fungus in the human body may offer a brand-new method for early detection of cancer, according to new peer-reviewed research.

Israeli scientists joined forces with colleagues in the US to study tumors from 17,000 cancer patients to determine the type and amount of fungi that live in cancerous tissue. Limited research in the past suggested that the presence of fungi in tumors was rare.

However, a study, published in the journal Cell, revealed that many tumors contain swarms of fungi. Furthermore, as the fungus sheds DNA into blood, it offers a new method to detect cancer at an early stage and, accordingly, shape the best treatment.

“We were surprised to find that it’s actually more common to find tumors with fungi than without,” said Dr Ilana Livyatan of the Weizmann Institute of Science, who was part of the collaboration with the University of California San Diego School of Medicine.

Tel Aviv University and Sheba Medical Center also contributed to the study, entitled 'Pan-cancer analyses reveal cancer-type-specific fungal ecologies and bacteriome interactions'.

Screening ‘Atlas’

The Weizmann-California team created an “atlas” outlining which fungi characterize 35 different types of tumor, so as to help the new screening method.

Furthermore, the scientists are hopeful that beyond simply flagging the existence of cancer, such tests could also indicate the location of the tumor in the body.

“This could offer a new avenue for diagnosis of cancers using a simple blood test that detects fungi in tumors. And beyond diagnostics, this could really shake things up in tumor research. This is one of these eye-opening moments that makes us revisit our assumptions about cancer, as fungi now represent a whole new consideration in analyzing tumors,” Livyatan told The Times of Israel.

As part of their analysis, the team of scientists found many correlations between fungi and cancer survival chances. For example, they determined that when breast cancer patients had a specific fungus present in their tumors, Malassezia globosa, this presented heightened chances of survival.

The recent study on patterns of bacteria in tumors will probably prompt more research into the fungi-cancer relationships, according to the Weizmann Institute's Professor Yitzhak Pilpel.

“This study sheds new light on the complex biological environment within tumors, and future research will reveal how fungi affect cancerous growth,” he said.

Fungal activity is “a new and emerging hallmark of cancer,” emphasized Professor Ravid Straussman, another cancer specialist at the Weizmann Institute, adding:

“These findings should drive us to better explore the potential effects of tumor fungi and to re-examine almost everything we know about cancer through a ‘microbiome lens'."