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Review
. 2023 Jan 24:14:1130562.
doi: 10.3389/fphar.2023.1130562. eCollection 2023.

Understanding the role of the gut microbiome in gastrointestinal cancer: A review

Duygu Ağagündüz  1 , Ermelinda Cocozza  2 , Özge Cemali  1 , Ayşe Derya Bayazıt  1 , Maria Francesca Nanì  3 , Ida Cerqua  3 , Floriana Morgillo  4 , Suna Karadeniz Saygılı  5   6 , Roberto Berni Canani  7 , Paola Amero  5 , Raffaele Capasso  8
Affiliations
Review

Understanding the role of the gut microbiome in gastrointestinal cancer: A review

Duygu Ağagündüz et al. Front Pharmacol. .

Erratum in

Abstract

Gastrointestinal cancer represents one of the most diagnosed types of cancer. Cancer is a genetic and multifactorial disease, influenced by the host and environmental factors. It has been stated that 20% of cancer is caused by microorganisms such as Helicobacter pylori, hepatitis B and C virus, and human papillomavirus. In addition to these well-known microorganisms associated with cancer, it has been shown differences in the composition of the microbiota between healthy individuals and cancer patients. Some studies have suggested the existence of the selected microorganisms and their metabolites that can promote or inhibit tumorigenesis via some mechanisms. Recent findings have shown that gut microbiome and their metabolites can act as cancer promotors or inhibitors. It has been shown that gastrointestinal cancer can be caused by a dysregulation of the expression of non-coding RNA (ncRNA) through the gut microbiome. This review will summarize the latest reports regarding the relationship among gut microbiome, ncRNAs, and gastrointestinal cancer. The potential applications of diagnosing and cancer treatments will be discussed.

Keywords: diagnosis; gastrointestinal cancer; microbiome; non-coding RNAs; therapeutics.

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Conflict of interest statement

EC was employed by the company MERCK S.P.A. The remaining 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
Putative mechanisms of action of the gut microbiome on tumor suppression and oncogenesis.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Scheme of the gut microbiome and miRNAs on tumor suppression and oncogenesis. (A) Microbiome compositions can induce changes in miRNA expression and induce inflammation, immune recruitment, and epigenetic modifications associated with cancer progression; (B) MiRNAs and microbiota have bi-directional effects on cancer development; (C) Diet habits can influence the microbiome composition along with miRNA expression; (D) ncRNAs can be used as therapeutics influencing the microbiome composition or as diagnostics.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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