Gut Microbiota for Esophageal Cancer: Role in Carcinogenesis and Clinical Implications.

Jianfeng Zhou,Yonggang Zhang,Xiaoxi Zeng,Siyuan Luan,Chengyi Mao,Yushang Yang,Xin Xiao,Yong Yuan,Shangwei Sun,Longqi Chen

doi:10.3389/fonc.2021.717242

Abstract

Esophageal cancer (EC) is a common malignant tumor of the upper digestive tract. The microbiota in the digestive tract epithelium comprises a large number of microorganisms that adapt to the immune defense and interact with the host to form symbiotic networks, which affect many physiological processes such as metabolism, tissue development, and immune response. Reports indicate that there are microbial compositional changes in patients with EC, which provides an important opportunity to advance clinical applications based on findings on the gut microbiota. For example, microbiota detection can be used as a biomarker for screening and prognosis, and microorganism levels can be adjusted to treat cancer and decrease the adverse effects of treatment. This review aims to provide an outline of the gut microbiota in esophageal neoplasia, including the mechanisms involved in microbiota-related carcinogenesis and the prospect of utilizing the microbiota as EC biomarkers and treatment targets. These findings have important implications for translating the use of gut microbiota in clinical applications.

Highlights

Esophageal cancer (EC) is one of the most common cancers and is a primary health burden worldwide [1]
This review aims to provide an outline of the gut microbiota in esophageal neoplasia, including the mechanisms involved in microbiota-related carcinogenesis and the prospect of utilizing the microbiota as EC biomarkers and treatment targets
The results showed that patients with high loads of F. nucleatum in tumors seemed to be more resistant to neoadjuvant chemotherapy treatment [85]; the use of narrowspectrum antibiotics to eradicate F. nucleatum might increase the effectiveness of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Esophageal cancer (EC) is one of the most common cancers and is a primary health burden worldwide [1]. Yang et al showed that the number of bacteria in the normal, esophagitis, and BE groups was similar and the change was the relative abundance of bacteria [35] These studies suggest that the composition of esophageal microflora in normal esophagus, RE, and BE is different, indicating that esophageal diseases may be associated with the microflora structure. The N staging showed no exception; they found that patients with lymph node metastasis had a higher abundance of Prevotella and Treponema compared to control subjects [84] They investigated the impact of the microbiota on the long-term prognosis of patients undergoing EC surgery and reported that the abundance of the genera Prevotella and Streptococcus was inversely correlated with survival rates in ESCC patients, suggesting that a high abundance of these genera predicts poor prognosis. 37 GERD, 45 BE, 30 EAC, and 39 healthy controls 87 ESCC and 85 healthy controls 19 EAC and 20 healthy controls 81 EAC and 160 healthy controls 25 ESCC and 50 healthy controls 32 BE and 17 healthy controls 6 EAC and 16 healthy controls 18 ESCC and 11 healthy controls

23 EC and 23 healthy controls 100 ESCC 45 ESCC

Findings

CONCLUSION