Abstract 3054: Pan-cancer characterization of the tumor mycobiome and its clinical effects

While the study of the tumor microbiome and its effects on cancer biology has expanded considerably over the last few years, most of this research focused on bacteria and viruses, leaving behind the fungal kingdom. Recently, a few studies have demonstrated that specific fungi may promote tumor progression, stressing the importance of comprehensively studying the tumor mycobiome and its effects. To address this, we have characterized the mycobiome in 1,183 human tumors and their adjacent tissues, originating from eight major solid tumor types. Staining and imaging demonstrated the presence of fungi in both cancer and immune cells, with tumor-type specific distribution patterns. Quantitative PCR of the fungal 5.8s rDNA revealed the presence of fungal DNA in all tumor types. To characterize the tumor mycobiome and address potential contamination during tissue handling and processing, we subjected all samples, as well as 295 negative controls of different types, to sequencing of the ITS2 region that is situated between fungal rRNA genes. We found cancer-type specific mycobial signatures with relatively high similarity between tumors and their adjacent tissues. While the fungal mycobiome had a lower species richness as compared to the bacterial microbiome of the same tumors, fungi showed significant co-occurrences with specific bacteria, suggesting the existence of ecological niches within the tumors. We also found significant correlations with clinical parameters such as patient’s age, tumor stage, progression-free survival, overall survival, and response to immune checkpoint blockade therapy. Characterization of the tumor mycobiome may add a biologically relevant, previously overlooked, component to be considered in the study of cancer, including its effects on tumor initiation, progression, diagnosis, and response to therapy. Citation Format: Lian Narunsky Haziza, Gregory D. Sepich-Poore, Ilana Livyatan, Omer Asraf, Cameron Martino, Deborah Nejman, Nancy Gavert, Jason E. Stajich, Guy Amit, Antonio González, Stephen Wandro, Gili Perry, Ruthie Ariel, Arnon Meltser, Justin P. Shaffer, Qiyun Zhu, Nora Balint-Lahat, Iris Barshack, Maya Dadian, Einav N. Gal-Yam, Sandip P. Pate, Amir Bashan, Austin D. Swafford, Yitzhak Pilpel, Rob Knight, Ravid Straussman. Pan-cancer characterization of the tumor mycobiome and its clinical effects [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr 3054.