Could overlooked bacterial DNA help explain aggressive prostate cancer? Bacterial genomes recovered from discarded DNA sequencing data could help researchers investigate whether microbes contribute to aggressive prostate cancer. Written byBree Foster, PhD

Could overlooked bacterial DNA help explain aggressive prostate cancer? Bacterial genomes recovered from discarded DNA sequencing data could help researchers investigate whether microbes contribute to aggressive prostate cancer. Written byBree Foster, PhD https://www.drugdiscoverynews.com/could-overlooked-bacterial-dna-help-explain-aggressive-prostate-cancer-17595 When researchers sequence DNA from a tumor or blood sample, they typically focus on the patient's genetic material. Sequences that do not map to the human genome are often filtered out, but researchers are increasingly recognizing that these unmapped sequences actually contain a wealth of valuable information. A growing body of evidence has linked certain bacteria to cancer, with some microbes implicated in cancer development and others associated with disease progression. Now, researchers at the University of East Anglia (UEA) have investigated whether this overlooked DNA could help uncover previously uncharacterized bacterial species in patients with prostate cancer.