The transition from minimally invasive adenocarcinoma (MIA) to invasive adenocarcinoma (IAC) marks a decisive turning point in lung cancer progression. While the bacterial microbiome is a recognized component of the tumor microenvironment, the specific contribution of the lung mycobiome to this invasive shift remains largely obscure. Using an integrated multi-omics approach, this study maps the fungal ecosystem dynamics across the MIA-to-IAC spectrum. Notably, invasive tissues exhibited a significant elevation in fungal diversity, a finding that stands in sharp contrast to the traditional view of disease-associated microbial loss. We identified Candida albicans as the pivotal biomarker distinguishing invasive from indolent lesions. Crucially, functional integration reveals that this fungal enrichment is not merely an association but appears to actively orchestrate a pro-tumorigenic shift in the host’s immune and metabolic landscape. These findings uncover a novel fungal-driven mechanism of tumor invasiveness, suggesting that the lung mycobiome serves as both a hidden driver of progression and a valuable target for early therapeutic intervention.
Yang et al. (Wed,) studied this question.