Isobutyl cinnamate

Abstract

The gut microbiota acts as a real organ. The symbiotic interactions between the living microorganisms and the digestive tract contribute greatly to maintaining gut homeostasis. However, alterations to the microbiota caused by environmental changes (e.g., infection, diet, and/or lifestyle) can disturb this relationship, altering the healthy status and promoting disease, such as different types of inflammatory bowel diseases and cancer. Regarding the latter, it is noteworthy that it is already proven that this alteration in microbiota is implicated in the occurrence and development of colorectal cancer (CRC).Despite progress being made, CRC continues to be one of the deadliest cancer types with different molecular phenotypes, a strong resistance to therapies, and a very high mortality rate. In recent years, clinical data show that the incidence of CRC decreased slightly among adults aged ≥ 50 years. In contrast, the incidence increased by about 20% among adults aged < 50 years, with mortality increasing by about 10%. These changes seem to show that some factors, different to genetic predisposition and related with lifestyle, have started to influence the early apparition of disease.Due to the advances produced in the knowledge of the microbiota composition and its role in CRC, an interesting need in identifying new markers for the diagnosis, prevention, and even treatment has emerged. This has been possible due to the advances produced in sequencing technologies, which through the analysis of the 16S bacterial region on fecal samples have allowed; for example, characterize some microbial markers.