A new special issue has just been published in ecancermedicalscience which explores the rapidly evolving field of the microbiome and cancer.  It consists of six articles from members of the International Cancer Microbiome Consortium which take readers through the technology and “omics” sciences underpinning microbiome research, including how the microbiome may cause cancer and the interaction of the microbiome with chemotherapeutics.

"Humans are super-organisms of massive interconnecting genomes from trillions of organisms that are all essential for maintaining health," says Guest Editor Dr Alasdair Scott of Imperial College, London, UK. The microbiome, or the sum of the genetic information contained within these organisms, is almost unimaginably vast - and incredibly complex, with thousands of relationships developed over our long history of co-evolution with the microscopic. “We’re beginning to appreciate that the human microbiome impacts on nearly every aspect of human physiology and pathophysiology," Dr Scott explains.

Now it's time to turn our attention to the "oncomicrobiome," the complex connection between cancer and the microbiome.  This special issue provides a solid introduction and broad overview of microbiome-oncology research for clinicians and scientists who may be less familiar with this novel field.