Fungus is telltale cancer sign, possibly screenable by blood test: Israel-US study
Many tumors are teeming with fungi that shed DNA into blood, and researchers say blood analysis could offer treasure trove of information to detect and to shape treatment
Hunting for fungus in the human body may offer a brand-new method for early detection of cancer, Israeli scientists suggest in new peer-reviewed research.
Working with colleagues in the US, they studied tumors from 17,000 cancer patients to document, for the first time, which fungi live in the tissue.
There has been very limited research until now on fungi in tumors, and scientists had assumed that its occurrence was rare. “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.
Her team created a groundbreaking “atlas” dedicated to this topic, and says it could be used to create new screening methods.
As DNA from fungi can be detected in blood, the scientists hope that blood analyses could one day be used by doctors to spot cancer.
