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Unraveling the Fungi–Cancer Connection

Summary

Fungi living in and around tumors play surprisingly important roles in cancer development and treatment response, yet they have been largely overlooked compared to bacteria. Different cancer types host specific fungal species that can promote tumor growth through immune suppression and toxin production. By better understanding and potentially targeting these tumor-associated fungi, researchers believe we could develop new combination treatments that enhance the effectiveness of existing cancer therapies.

Background

The microbiota substantially impacts cancer initiation, progression, and therapeutic responses. While bacterial roles in cancer are well-studied, fungal roles in cancer are emerging as an important but underexplored area. The mycobiome, despite its lower relative abundance compared to bacteria, plays crucial roles in tumorigenesis and cancer progression.

Objective

This perspective aims to answer key questions about the fungi-tumor axis and mycobiome-cancer connection: why mycobiome matters in oncological research, how fungi and bacteria interact during cancer progression, mechanisms of fungal impact on cancer, targeting fungi for anticancer interventions, and the translational potential of mycobiome-driven cancer research.

Results

Tumor-specific mycobiomes exist across multiple cancer types with cancer-specific fungal compositions including Candida, Malassezia, Blastomyces, and Aspergillus species. Fungi and bacteria interact through metabolite exchange and immune modulation, with fungi thriving in hypoxic/acidic tumor regions. Multiple mechanisms of fungal carcinogenesis were identified, including immune suppression, complement cascade activation, and mycotoxin production.

Conclusion

The mycobiome has significant but undervalued roles in cancer biology comparable to the bacteriome. Multi-kingdom microbiota analysis and targeted fungal interventions show therapeutic potential in combination with existing anticancer treatments. Addressing challenges in standardization, causal inference, and clinical translation is essential for advancing mycobiome-driven cancer research.
  • Published in:Research,
  • Study Type:Review,
  • Source: PMID: 41049617, DOI: 10.34133/research.0931
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