mSphere of Influence: Seeking the unseen fungi in tumors.

Ningning Liu works in the field of fungal infection and cancer progression, with a particular focus on the mechanism of host-pathogen interaction. In this mSphere of influence article, he reflects on how papers entitled "The fungal mycobiome promotes pancreatic oncogenesis via activation of MBL," by B. Aykut, S. Pushalkar, R. Chen, Q. Li, et al. (Nature 574:264-267, 2019, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1608-2), and "A pan-cancer mycobiome analysis reveals fungal involvement in gastrointestinal and lung tumors," by A. B. Dohlman, J. Klug, M. Mesko, I. H. Gao, et al. (Cell 185:3807-3822.E12, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2022.09.015), emphasized the non-negligible role of fungi in the host and demonstrated a connection between fungi and cancer. These researches arouse his interest in seeking the novel fungal pathogen lurking inside tumors and understanding the unexplored mechanisms behind the severe fungal infections in cancer patients.