Journal: Signal transduction and targeted therapy
This review synthesizes current knowledge on how the microbiota influences cancer biology and treatment, organized across several key domains:
- Historical evolution of the field
– Traces the trajectory from early descriptive observations of microbes in cancer tissues to modern, mechanistic work linking specific microorganisms to carcinogenesis.
– Highlights landmark studies that established causal or strongly associative relationships between particular microbes and tumor development.
- Mechanistic links between microbiota and cancer
– Details how microbiota can drive or modulate oncogenic signaling pathways, shape local and systemic immune responses, and reprogram tumor and host metabolism.
– Emphasizes that these mechanisms can either promote tumor initiation and progression or, conversely, inhibit tumor growth and support antitumor immunity.
- Bidirectional roles of microbiota in tumorigenesis
– Describes the dual nature of microbiota as both a facilitator of tumor growth (e.g., through inflammation, genotoxic metabolites, immune evasion) and a potential antitumor agent (e.g., by enhancing immune surveillance, producing beneficial metabolites).
– Positions the microbiota as both a risk factor and a therapeutic target in oncology.
- Impact on anticancer therapies
– Reviews evidence that microbiota composition and function modulate responses to:
– Immunotherapy
– Chemotherapy
– Radiotherapy
– Discusses mechanisms by which microbes influence treatment efficacy and toxicity, and how perturbations (e.g., antibiotics) can alter clinical outcomes.
- Therapeutic strategies targeting microbiota
– Summarizes emerging approaches, including:
– Probiotics and other microbial-based interventions
– Antibiotic modulation
– Fecal microbiota transplantation
– Notes that the review catalogs relevant regulatory-approved drugs and ongoing clinical trials where microbiota-targeted or microbiota-modulated strategies are being tested in cancer settings.
- Future directions and clinical translation
– Argues for personalized, microbiota-informed oncology, where patient-specific microbial profiles guide prevention and treatment strategies.
– Proposes a “stereoscopic, comprehensive” conceptual framework integrating microbiota, tumor biology, host immunity, and therapy response to direct future research and clinical application.
Overall, the article positions microbiota as a central and tractable component of the tumor ecosystem, with significant implications for carcinogenesis, treatment response, and development of novel microbiota-targeted cancer therapies.