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Review
. 2023 Jun 11;15(12):3143.
doi: 10.3390/cancers15123143.

The Role of Microbiota in Pancreatic Cancer

Valerio Papa  1   2 , Tommaso Schepis  3 , Gaetano Coppola  3 , Michele Francesco Chiappetta  3 , Livio Enrico Del Vecchio  3 , Tommaso Rozera  3 , Giuseppe Quero  1   2 , Antonio Gasbarrini  1   3 , Sergio Alfieri  1   2 , Alfredo Papa  1   3
Affiliations
Review

The Role of Microbiota in Pancreatic Cancer

Valerio Papa et al. Cancers (Basel). .

Abstract

Pancreatic cancer (PC) has an unfavorable prognosis with few effective therapeutic options. This has led researchers to investigate the possible links between microbiota and PC. A disrupted gut microbiome can lead to chronic inflammation, which is involved in the pathogenesis of PC. In addition, some bacterial strains can produce carcinogens that promote the growth of cancer cells. Research has also focused on pancreatic and oral microbiota. Changes in these microbiota can contribute to the development and progression of PC. Furthermore, patients with periodontal disease have an increased risk of developing PC. The potential use of microbiota as a prognostic marker or to predict patients' responses to chemotherapy or immunotherapy is also being explored. Overall, the role of microbiota-including the gut, pancreatic, and oral microbiota-in PC is an active research area. Understanding these associations could lead to new diagnostic and therapeutic targets for this deadly disease.

Keywords: gut microbiota; gut microbiota modulation; intrapancreatic microbiota; pancreatic cancer; periodontal disease.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The influence of gut-microbiota-derived metabolites in the pathogenesis and progression of pancreatic cancer. Abbreviations: SCFA: short-chain fatty acids; GPCR: G-protein-coupled receptor; FXR: farnesoid-X receptor; LXR: liver-X receptor; TGR5: Takeda G-protein-coupled receptor 5/G-protein-coupled bile acid receptor; CAR: constitutive androstane receptor; VDR: vitamin D receptor; PXR: pregnane X receptor.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The most critical abnormalities found in the composition of the gut, oral, and pancreatic microbiota associated with pancreatic cancer and the alterations associated with a worse prognosis of pancreatic cancer. ↑, increased abundance; ↓, reduced abundance.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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