It is well established that gut microbiome composition plays a pivotal role in human health – yet the precise connections are still not fully elucidated. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have moved a step closer to understanding these complex interactions: they have identified a cellular mechanism that alters the gut microbiome in a way that promotes cancer. An analysis of patient data shows that the findings also apply to humans.

Ovarian cancer (OC), one of the three most common gynecological malignancies, is characterized by low early detection rates and poor prognosis. Patients with OC face a high risk of developing transcoelomic metastasis—the spread of cancer cells within the abdominal cavity—during the early stages of the disease, a process strongly linked to poor survival outcomes. However, the underlying mechanisms of how OC cells spread from the primary tumor to distant sites have remained elusive.