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Review
. 2022 Nov 24:12:1020121.
doi: 10.3389/fonc.2022.1020121. eCollection 2022.

Understanding and harnessing triple-negative breast cancer-related microbiota in oncology

Ciaran Devoy  1   2   3 , Yensi Flores Bueso  1   2   3 , Mark Tangney  1   2   3   4
Affiliations
Review

Understanding and harnessing triple-negative breast cancer-related microbiota in oncology

Ciaran Devoy et al. Front Oncol. .

Abstract

Bacterial inhabitants of the body have the potential to play a role in various stages of cancer initiation, progression, and treatment. These bacteria may be distal to the primary tumour, such as gut microbiota, or local to the tissue, before or after tumour growth. Breast cancer is well studied in this context. Amongst breast cancer types, Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) is more aggressive, has fewer treatment options than receptor-positive breast cancers, has an overall worse prognosis and higher rates of reoccurrence. Thus, an in-depth understanding of the bacterial influence on TNBC progression and treatment is of high value. In this regard, the Gut Microbiota (GM) can be involved in various stages of tumour progression. It may suppress or promote carcinogenesis through the release of carcinogenic metabolites, sustenance of proinflammatory environments and/or the promotion of epigenetic changes in our genome. It can also mediate metastasis and reoccurrence through interactions with the immune system and has been recently shown to influence chemo-, radio-, and immune-therapies. Furthermore, bacteria have also been found to reside in normal and malignant breast tissue. Several studies have now described the breast and breast tumour microbiome, with the tumour microbiota of TNBC having the least taxonomic diversity among all breast cancer types. Here, specific conditions of the tumour microenvironment (TME) - low O2, leaky vasculature and immune suppression - are supportive of tumour selective bacterial growth. This innate bacterial ability could enable their use as delivery agents for various therapeutics or as diagnostics. This review aims to examine the current knowledge on bacterial relevance to TNBC and potential uses while examining some of the remaining unanswered questions regarding mechanisms underpinning observed effects.

Keywords: bacterial theranostics; microbiome; microbiome & dysbiosis; microbiome modulation; triple-negative-breast-cancer.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The microbiome influence in Cancer. In eubiosis the microbiome promotes our health status and prevents oncogenesis and tumor progression by influencing the immune system, promoting gut barrier integrity, and influencing cell signaling. Conversely, during dysbiosis there is a loss of barrier integrity that can lead to potentially harmful bacterial translocation, chronic inflammation in distal sites and the production of cancer promoting bacterial by-products.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The microbiome influence on the host immune system. The microbiome modulates the immune system through MAMP production. These are sensed by antigen presenting cells (APCs), which process them to be presented to CD4+ naïve T-cells to induce either immune tolerance or an immune response.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Bacteria as Cancer Theranostics. Harnessing the potentials of the microbiome to treat/prevent triple negative breast cancer.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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