Thomas LaFramboise, associate professor in the Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, and a team of researchers published an article in Nature Communications in February.
Titled “Circulating Microbial Content in Myeloid Malignancy Patients is Associated With Disease Subtypes and Patient Outcomes,” the paper analyzed the composition of microbes (bacteria, viruses, and fungi) in circulation (blood and bone marrow) of nearly 2,000 individuals with leukemia and similar conditions.
The findings showed that microbial content differed significantly from that of healthy individuals, and also could be used to predict a disease subtype. Viral content, particularly Epstein-Barr virus, tracked with patient outcomes in some cases.