Salzberg, S. L., Chia, M., Tay, A., de Miranda, N. F. C. C., Smit, V., Wesseling, J., Irizarry, R., Marshall, B., Willerslev, E., Neefjes, J., & Nagarajan, N. (2026). Setting higher standards for reports of microbial species in human cancers. Nature Cancer. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43018-026-01121-6
Abstract:
The presence of microbiota in human tumors has been reported widely based on bioinformatic analyses of DNA sequencing datasets; however, the source of microbial sequences in atypical anatomical sites is challenging to validate, as these could derive from sampling, storage, handling and processing of samples, similar to what has been described in studies of ancient DNA. Contamination of microbial reference genomes can also be a source of microbial signals, causing misclassification of human reads. Here, we overview the required quality controls and validation approaches and summarize optimal practices to improve the rigor and standards of tumor microbiome studies.
License type:
Publisher Copyright
Funding Info:
This research / project is supported by the National Medical Research Council - Open Fund - Young Individual Research Grant
Grant Reference no. : OFYIRG21nov-0024
This research / project is supported by the National Research Foundation - National Research Foundation Investigatorship
Grant Reference no. : NRFI09-0015
Description:
This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in Nature Cancer. The final authenticated version is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s43018-026-01121-6