989-Biogeography of Multi-Kingdom Cancer Microbiome

Paper Talk · May 17, 2026 · 27m

This paper presents PathSeq-T2T, a highly precise computational pipeline designed to identify microbial DNA within human tumor samples while rigorously removing host genetic material and environmental contaminants. By applying this technology to over 16,000 cancer genomes, researchers discovered that orodigestive cancers—such as those in the mouth, stomach, and colon—harbor complex, multi-kingdom communities including bacteria, fungi, and rare parasites. Conversely, most other solid tumor types lack a detectable microbiome once background noise is properly eliminated. The study reveals that…