Cyanobacterial Detection in Human Kidney Formalin-Fixed Paraffin Embedded Specimens from Cancer and Non-Cancer Populations

Abstract

cancer samples, cyanobacterial load was positively correlated with Transforming Growth Factor-beta in all patients (r=0.5452, p=0.0013) as well as within the RCC cohort (r=0.5320, p=0.0052). Conclusion: Our results suggest that cyanobacteria may be increased in the setting of RCC and impact the expression of key tissue remodeling genes within these tumors. This data is in agreement with clinical and experimental evidence suggesting an association between cyanobacteria and cancer progression in other settings and supports the need to investigate the potential role of cyanobacteria in renal cancer progression. Analysis of additional samples is ongoing to establish this relationship in an expanded cohort.