Abstract
Breast cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related deaths in women. Breast cancer is still a major cause of morbidity and mortality among women despite all the available diagnostic and treatment modalities. The gut microbiota has drawn keen interest as an additional environmental risk factor in breast cancer, especially in sporadic cases. This article explores factors that disrupt the normal gut microbial composition and the role of gut microbial dysbiosis in the development of breast cancer. We finalized 40 relevant articles after searching Pubmed and Google Scholar using regular keywords and the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) strategy. Gut microbiota dysbiosis has been shown to play a role in the development of breast cancer via estrogen-dependent mechanisms and non-estrogen-dependent mechanisms involving the production of microbial-derived metabolites, immune regulation, and effects on DNA. The gut microbiota influence estrogen metabolism hence estrogen levels. The metabolites that have demonstrated anticancer properties include lithocholic acid, butyrate, and cadaverine. New approaches targeting the gut microbiota have come up and may yield new advances in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of breast cancer. They include the use of prebiotics, probiotics, and hormone supplements to restore normobiosis in the prevention and treatment of breast cancer.
Highlights
IntroductionBackgroundThe most common cancer in women, excluding skin cancers, is breast cancer
BackgroundThe most common cancer in women, excluding skin cancers, is breast cancer
Gut microbial dysbiosis seemingly has a role to play in the development of some cases of breast cancer and has untapped life-saving potential as a target for intervention
Summary
BackgroundThe most common cancer in women, excluding skin cancers, is breast cancer. In 2020, female breast cancer was found to be the cancer with the highest incidence, with an estimated 2.3 million cases (11.7% of total cancer cases) surpassing lung cancer (11.4% of total cancer cases) for the first time [1]. It is currently the most frequent cause of cancer death in women worldwide, with about 685,000 estimated deaths in 2020 [1]. The predicted worldwide incidence of female breast cancer by 2050 is estimated to be 3.2 million new cases per year [2]. Incidence rates of breast cancer have been rising by about 0.5% per year, partially due to continued decline in the fertility rate and increased body weight [3]
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