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Cancer immunotherapy

Tumor bacterial burden dictates immunotherapy fate in head and neck cancer

Nature Cancer (2026)Cite this article

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Tumor-infiltrating microorganisms have been presented as an unappreciated component of the tumor microenvironment, but there are few examples of their influence on tumor phenotypes or response to therapies. The total amount of bacteria is now shown to influence immunotherapy outcomes in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

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Fig. 1: The effect of the tumor microbiome on immunotherapy outcomes in HNSCC.

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Acknowledgements

D.S. is supported by the NIH (K01AG070310, R01CA248741 and R21CA294050), an American Lung Association Innovator Award (1046611), and an American Cancer Society Research Scholar Award (RSG-23-1023205).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiation Oncology, The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbus, OH, USA

    Sachin R. Jhawar

  2. Pelotonia Institute for Immuno-Oncology, The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbus, OH, USA

    Daniel Spakowicz

  3. Center of Microbiome Science, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

    Daniel Spakowicz

Authors
  1. Sachin R. Jhawar
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  2. Daniel Spakowicz
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Correspondence to Daniel Spakowicz.

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Jhawar, S.R., Spakowicz, D. Tumor bacterial burden dictates immunotherapy fate in head and neck cancer. Nat Cancer (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43018-025-01074-2

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