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Bacteria in Human Tumours

BACKGROUND
Specific, individual bacterial species have been isolated from a number of tumour types. Such studies have analysed patient tumours for the presence of a given specific strain, in an attempt to correlate the presence of this bacterium with cancer causation. Not until we reported in 2014 the presence of a wide range of bacteria in patient breast tumours, was the concept of a ‘Tumour Microbiome’ conceived. While bacterial presence in certain tumours is associated with tumourigenesis, in many cases bacterial presence may reflect selective replication of bacteria within tumours. We propose to screen malignant and non-‐ malignant tissues from lung, renal and breast cancer patients to assess for the existence of endogenous microbiota. Tissue from cancer operations will be collected and the bacterial content examined by sequencing and histology. We will characterise the relationship between bacteria and these cancer-‐‐ related tissues, identify their potential source and determine any correlations with tumour progression (positive or negative).
AIMS
To generate key data to improve our understanding of the host-‐ tumour-‐ microbiome ecosystem by:
-Identifying what and how many bacteria are present;
-Determining from where these bacteria originate;
-Examining bacterial growth patterns within the tumour;
-Examining if there are responses to bacterial presence;
-Correlating bacterial profile with cancer patient outcomes;
-Identifying naturally occurring bacteria potentially suitable for exploitation in cancer treatment
METHODOLOGY
-Sequencing analyses of bacteria in patient lung, kidney and breast tumours;
-Histological analyses of bacterial and host cells in patient tumour tissue;
-Correlation of clinical data and laboratory findings.
This multidisciplinary programme of research features a collaborative team of cancer researchers, microbiologists and computational biologists, and the PhD student will be trained in a wide range of research techniques and approaches that will facilitate a broad yet thorough education in medical research.