# The Role of the Microbiome in Cancer Suppression and Susceptibility Across Species

> **NIH NIH U54** · ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY-TEMPE CAMPUS · 2021 · $54,749

## Abstract

Project Summary:
Why are some species particularly susceptible to cancer while others develop very little cancer?
We have discovered wide variation in cancer prevalence across species. However, we can
explain only a small fraction of that variation. We hypothesize that the microbiomes of species
may explain part of their cancer prevalence. Specifically, we hypothesize that microbiome
diversity prevents pathogenic microbes from dominating and so should be associated with lower
cancer prevalence across species. We also hypothesize that microbial species that have been
associated with cancer in humans will be associated with higher neoplasia and malignancy
prevalence across animals. Likewise, microbial species associated with lower cancer
prevalence in humans will be associated with lower neoplasia and malignancy prevalence
across animals. We will also test for cancer prevalence associations with microbes that have not
been previously connected to cancer. We will download publicly available microbiome 16S
rRNA data for the 164 species in our comparative oncology database for which we have at least
50 necropsy reports. If 16S rRNA data is lacking for any of those species, we will collaborate
with the Phoenix and other zoos to acquire stool samples that we will sequence to profile the
gastrointestinal microbiome. Because diet and microbiome are factors that are much more
easily modified than many other variables that may explain cancer prevalence, such as basal
metabolic rate, the results of our analyses are potentially translatable to cancer prevention in
humans.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10381388
- **Project number:** 3U54CA217376-04S1
- **Recipient organization:** ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY-TEMPE CAMPUS
- **Principal Investigator:** Carlo Maley
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $54,749
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2018-04-12 → 2023-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10381388

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10381388, The Role of the Microbiome in Cancer Suppression and Susceptibility Across Species (3U54CA217376-04S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-04 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10381388. Licensed CC0.

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