New research casts doubt on role of fungus in driving pancreatic cancer
New research casts doubt on role of fungus in driving pancreatic ... Science Daily
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Study Finds No Association Between Fungus and Pancreatic Cancer
Four years ago, a report that a common species of fungus might fuel pancreatic cancer offered a promising new view of the deadly disease.
Introduction
In a study appearing online Aug. 3 in the journal Nature, Duke Health researchers conducted a multi-pronged analysis of data from an earlier study to validate the finding that a common species of fungus could be linked to pancreatic cancer. However, their findings revealed no such association.
Background
“We were intrigued by the original finding, as were many research teams,” said senior author Peter Allen, M.D., professor in the Department of Surgery and chief of the Division of Surgical Oncology at Duke University School of Medicine. “There is a growing body of literature connecting the human microbiome to disease, and this was particularly compelling for pancreatic cancer. But our findings did not support an association between fungi and the development of pancreatic cancer in humans.”
Recreation of Previous Findings
Allen and his colleagues aimed to recreate the 2019 findings published in Nature by a different research team. They focused on the research team’s original raw sequencing data but were unable to reproduce the results. Additional studies using pancreatic cancer tissue from Duke repositories also failed to produce the original findings.
Challenges in Microbiome Sequencing Studies
“We believe our findings highlight the challenges of using low biomass samples for microbiome sequencing studies,” Allen said. “The inclusion of appropriate negative controls and efforts to identify and remove sequencing contaminants is critical to the interpretation of microbiome data.”
Study Authors and Funding
The study authors include Ashley A. Fletcher, Matthew S. Kelly, and Austin M. Eckhoff. The work was funded by the Duke University School of Medicine through a grant from the Duke Microbiome Center. Kelly and Eckhoff also receive funding from the National Institutes of Health (K23-AI135090, T32-CA093245).
SDGs, Targets, and Indicators
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SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
- Target 3.4: By 2030, reduce by one-third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being.
- Indicator 3.4.1: Mortality rate attributed to cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, or chronic respiratory disease.
The article discusses pancreatic cancer, which is a type of cancer that falls under non-communicable diseases. SDG 3 aims to reduce premature mortality from non-communicable diseases, including cancer. The specific target mentioned in the article is to prevent pancreatic cancer, which aligns with Target 3.4. The indicator to measure progress towards this target is the mortality rate attributed to cancer, which is Indicator 3.4.1.
| SDGs | Targets | Indicators |
|---|---|---|
| SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being | Target 3.4: By 2030, reduce by one-third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being. | Indicator 3.4.1: Mortality rate attributed to cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, or chronic respiratory disease. |
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Source: sciencedaily.com
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