Fungi grow inside cancerous tumors, scientists discover

There are traces of fungi in the tumors of people with a variety of cancer. It's not known if theise fungi plays a role in the development of cancer.

In one of the studies, researchers looked at more than 17,000 tissue samples and found the genetic fingerprints of a variety of cancer types. Of the 35 cancer types assessed, the team found fungi in all but one.

Some tumors had no fungi at all, and some had a huge amount of them, according to the co-senior author of the book.

According to the estimates of the team, some tumors contain up to 10,000 cancer cells. He said that if you consider that a small tumor can contain a billion or so cancer cells, you can imagine that it has an effect on cancer biology.

There is a chance that cancer cells may "reawaken" due to a change in this keyprotein.

The team found that each cancer type had its own collection of different types of fungi, which can cause diseases, like yeast. These species often coexisted with the different types ofbacteria within the tumors. It's not known if the interactions between these microbes and the tumors help or hurt the cancer's spread.

The second Cell study found similar results to the first but focused on gastrointestinal, lung and breast tumors. The researchers found that each of the three cancer types hosted a different type of fungus.

There are indications that the growth of certain fungi may be related to worse cancer outcomes. Breast cancer patients with the fungus Malassezia globosa in their tumors showed worse survival rates than patients without the fungus, according to a study. The second group found that patients with a high amount of candida in their gastrointestinal tumors had increased gene activity linked to inflammation, cancer spread and poor survival rates.

Even though there are hints, neither study can say if these poor outcomes are caused by fungi or by aggressive cancer. The studies don't address the issue of if fungi can cause cancer.

The studies have the same limitations. For example, both pulled tissue and blood samples from existing databases, and it's possible that some may have been contaminated with fungi during the collection process. Even with the precautions taken, it would be better if the results could be replicated in a sterile environment.

The research into mycobiota, the communities of microbes associated with cancer, is a result of these initial studies. Everything we know about cancer needs to be evaluated. Everything can be seen through the lens of the Microbiome. There are a lot of animals in the tumor.