Members of the Dudeja Lab, led by Division of Surgical Oncology Director Vikas Dudeja, MBBS, published, “New Insights Into the Cancer–Microbiome–Immune Axis: Decrypting a Decade of Discoveries” in the Frontiers in Immunology journal.

The study, led by Researcher V Tejeshwar Jain, is a comprehensive guide to recent research exploring the interaction between microbiome and anti-tumor machinery. It collates a large amount of research on the topic under one roof, which is helpful for faculty, researchers, and patients, alike.

According to the study, the human microbiome is defined as the collection of all the microorganisms living in association with the human body including the skin, mammary glands, placenta, seminal fluid, uterus, ovarian follicles, lung, saliva, oral mucosa, conjunctiva, biliary tract, and gastrointestinal tract.

Researchers conclude that the microbiome is inextricably integrated into the cancer-immune crosstalk. The microbes interact with the host and the tumor in a diverse and context-specific manner, conferring individual and tumor-specificities to the immunomodulatory phenotype observed.

Authors also hypothesize that pursuing and understanding the unique mechanisms through which the microbiome is manipulated can help devise targeted and personalized tools for cancer diagnosis, therapy and prevention.

“We are just beginning to fully understand the complexities of the relationship between the microbiome and cancer,” said Dudeja. “Our lab, and other researchers across the nation, will continue to dig into these complexities in order to better understand how we can control and cure cancers.”

The complete list of authors includes:

• Tejeshwar Jain, MBBS
• Prateek Sharma, MBBS
• Abhi C. Are
• Selwyn M. Vickers, M.D.
• Vikas Dudeja, MBBS

To read the entire study, click here.