Setting higher standards for reports of microbial species in human cancers
Cet article présente un aperçu des contrôles qualité et des approches de validation requis pour les études sur le microbiome tumoral puis résume les pratiques optimales visant à améliorer la rigueur et les normes de ce type d'étude
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.
Nature Cancer , article en libre accès, 2026