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Illustration of gut microbes
Microbial Menace in Cancer Patients
Niki Spahich, PhD | Jul 5, 2023 | 2 min read
Fyza Shaikh investigates how microbes shape cancer patients’ health and recovery.
Microscopy image of blue stained cohesin proteins.
Mutated Cohesin Throws DNA Splicing out of Whack, Resulting in Cancer
Shafaq Zia | Mar 3, 2023 | 2 min read
Cohesin mutations cause dysregulations in alternative splicing, contributing to tumor initiation and progression, a study finds. 
Extreme Biotech: Understanding Extremophile Biology to Impact Human Health
The Scientist | 1 min read
Jaclyn Winter and Shiladitya DasSarma will discuss how they harness the unique biology of extremophiles for the discovery and development of new therapeutics.
Pink neutrophils on a white background.
Mucus-Eating Gut Bacteria May Promote Fever After Cancer Treatment
Alejandra Manjarrez, PhD | Jan 5, 2023 | 3 min read
The expansion of mucus-degraders in the mouse gut—possibly due to poor nutrition—thins the colon’s mucus layer and may weaken defenses against blood-infecting microbes.
Illustration of intestine containing pink microbes
Fungal DNA, Cells Found in Human Tumors
Catherine Offord | Sep 30, 2022 | 2 min read
It’s not clear whether, or how, the organisms might play a role in disease pathology.
A Little Help From My Friends: Lessons Learned From Microbiome Metagenomics
The Scientist | 1 min read
Heather Jordan and Jennifer Wargo will discuss how metagenomics studies help uncover new and medically relevant functions of the human microbiome.
An illustration of a mitochondrion, represented by a purple and orange bilayer, synthesizing reddish molecules of ATP.

Mitochondrial Protein Fuels Spread of Head and Neck Cancer 

Patience Asanga | Jul 8, 2022 | 3 min read
Head and neck cancer cells lacking the peptide involved in energy production were less likely to metastasize in mice.
salmonella bacteria 3d illustration
Salmonella Injection Helps the Mouse Immune System Kill Tumors
Dan Robitzski | May 16, 2022 | 3 min read
Nanoparticle-coated bacteria can capture tumor antigens and deliver them to immune cells, triggering a response that improved survival rates in mice.
Illustration showing how following radiation therapy, which triggers the release of cancer-specific antigens, researchers injected Salmonella typhimurium bacteria covered in positively charged nano- particles near tumors in mice.
Infographic: Salmonella Shuttle Tumor Antigens to Immune Cells
Dan Robitzski | May 16, 2022 | 1 min read
Nanoparticle-coated bacteria carry cancer-derived proteins to dendritic cells, enabling the immune system to launch a response in a mouse model.
illustration of a blood vessel
Bacteria in Tumors Promote Metastasis in Mice
Sophie Fessl, PhD | Apr 7, 2022 | 3 min read
Microbes living inside cancer cells may help them spread to distant sites by enhancing the cells’ resistance to mechanical stress, a study shows.
A stained tissue sample of metastatic pancreatic cancer
Tetanus Immunity Protects Mice Against Pancreatic Cancer
Amanda Heidt | Mar 24, 2022 | 3 min read
Because most people are vaccinated against tetanus as children, delivering benign bacteria carrying a tetanus antigen into pancreatic tumors makes them visible to memory cells in the immune system, researchers report.
Tumor microbiome composite
Could Cancer’s Microbiome Help Diagnose and Treat the Disease?
Jef Akst | Mar 14, 2022 | 10+ min read
A growing appreciation of the bacterial assemblages that live within tumors has researchers striving to understand and capitalize on their role.
Illustration showing microbial signatures of cancer in the body
Infographic: Putting Cancer’s Unique Microbiomes to Use
Jef Akst | Mar 14, 2022 | 1 min read
From diagnosis to tracking treatment responses, bacteria and other microbes in the blood, gut, and tumors of cancer patients may provide helpful hints for improving their care.
Illustration of a jackalope
On the Trail of the Jackalope
Michael P. Branch | Feb 14, 2022 | 5 min read
How horned rabbits led the way to the HPV vaccine
black-and-white image of an open mouth
The Common Mouth Microbe That Keeps Popping Up in Tumors
David Adam | Dec 15, 2021 | 6 min read
Lab studies link the oral bacteria Fusobacterium nucleatum to cancers from the gut to the head and neck. Could targeting the microbe tackle tumors?
salt on a black background
Salty Diet Helps Gut Bugs Fight Cancer in Mice: Study
Sophie Fessl, PhD | Sep 20, 2021 | 4 min read
A high-salt diet suppressed the growth of tumors in a mouse model of melanoma, apparently because of an interplay between the gut microbiome and natural killer cells.
white and yellow colonies growing on a petri dish
Gut Fungi Hamper Radiation Therapy in Mice with Cancer
Rachael Moeller Gorman | Aug 11, 2021 | 3 min read
Depleting intestinal fungi allows radiation to effectively fight cancer, likely because the microbes influence the antitumor immune response.
An illustration of several DNA helices on a light red water color background
Human Blood Harbors Cell-Free Microbial DNA
Abby Olena, PhD | Jul 9, 2021 | 3 min read
After controlling for high levels of bacterial contamination in their lab and reagents, researchers detect microbial genetic material in plasma samples from healthy people and cancer patients.
a man in a white t-shirt and face mask receives a bandage on his arm from a clinician wearing blue gloves and a plastic face shield
COVID-19 Vaccines Work in People with Cancer: Study
Marcus A. Banks | Jun 25, 2021 | 4 min read
Moderna’s, Pfizer’s, and Johnson & Johnson’s shots all offered protection against the virus regardless of cancer type, although slightly less so in people with blood cancer.
an illustration of a mix of different bacteria
Fecal Transplant Could Boost Immunotherapy to Treat Melanoma
Shawna Williams | Feb 12, 2021 | 4 min read
The results from two Phase 1 trials bolster the case that the gut microbiome plays a role in response to the drugs.
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