Do fungi in the intestine increase the risk of disease? – healing practice

Are intestinal fungi linked to the development of cancer?

Certain types of fungi that colonize the gut appear to be linked to the development of cancer. More precise knowledge of the connection could open up new early detection methods and therapeutic approaches and improve immune treatments. A research team from New York now wants to close the existing knowledge gaps in the field.

dr Iliyan D. Iliev is Professor of Immunology and Microbiology at the Weill Cornell Medicine in New York (United States). His research group has now received a $1.25 million grant from Cancer Research Institute for researching the connection between fungi in the intestine and the development of certain cancers such as colon cancer or pancreatic cancer.

First major study on the subject

The grant will allow the laboratory of Dr. Iliev now enable the relationships between certain fungal species and cancers to be examined more closely.

The professor had already proven in advance that those affected with the chronic inflammatory bowel disease ulcerative colitis have an increased risk of colon cancer. The working group was able to attribute the increased risk to a special composition of the intestinal flora in which certain fungal strains predominated.

“We found that some patients carry specific strains of fungi that spread and produce a toxin that affects inflammation,” explains dr Iliev.

Promising research approach

In the next five years, his team now wants to examine how the presence of certain fungi influences the development of Cancer and how this can be used for the diagnosis and therapy of cancer. One goal of the research program is to improve immunotherapies against cancer.

What is to be examined?

As part of the study, Dr. Iliev and his colleagues are able to isolate different types of intestinal fungi and observe their effects in mouse models. The knowledge gained from this should then be checked in human cancer patients.

New actors in the development of cancer

like dr Iliev emphasizes that the intestinal fungi play a role in the development of cancer that has so far received little attention. “There have been reports of certain types of fungi being associated with pancreatic cancer, for example,” says the research leader.

“Now we have developed methods that allow us to assess microbial components in different tumor types in order to coordinate the hypothesis and the modeling in a timely manner,” explains dr Iliev. (vb)