The role of the bacterial microbiome in the treatment of cancer

Zi-Kun Yu,Pei-Yu Huang,You-Ping Liu,Xu-Yin Chen,Ming-Yuan Chen,Rui You,Rui-Ling Xie

doi:10.1186/s12885-021-08664-0

Zi-Kun Yu, Pei-Yu Huang + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-021-08664-0

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Abstract

The human microbiome is defined as the microorganisms that reside in or on the human body, such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoa, and their genomes. The human microbiome participates in the modulation of human metabolism by influencing several intricate pathways. The association between specific bacteria or viruses and the efficacy of cancer treatments and the occurrence of treatment-related toxicity in cancer patients has been reported. However, the understanding of the interaction between the host microbiome and the cancer treatment response is limited, and the microbiome potentially plays a greater role in the treatment of cancer than reported to date. Here, we provide a thorough review of the potential role of the gut and locally resident bacterial microbiota in modulating responses to different cancer therapeutics to demonstrate the association between the gut or locally resident bacterial microbiota and cancer therapy. Probable mechanisms, such as metabolism, the immune response and the translocation of microbiome constituents, are discussed to promote future research into the association between the microbiome and other types of cancer. We conclude that the interaction between the host immune system and the microbiome may be the basis of the role of the microbiome in cancer therapies. Future research on the association between host immunity and the microbiome may improve the efficacy of several cancer treatments and provide insights into the cause of treatment-related side effects.

Highlights

The human microbiome can be considered an organ of the human body and is defined as the microorganisms that reside in the human body, such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoa, and their genomes [1]
Gopalakrishnan [20], mice transplanted with stools from human responders with metastatic melanoma treated with Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) showed improved responses to anti-PD-L1 therapy in contrast to the response of mice that were transplanted with stools from nonresponders
We found that the microbiome can modulate the efficacy of cancer therapy by modulating metabolism to enhance or suppress the immune response to the tumour or by modulating the metabolism of antitumour agents

Summary

Introduction

The human microbiome can be considered an organ of the human body and is defined as the microorganisms that reside in the human body, such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoa, and their genomes [1]. Several cancers and treatments have been found to be influenced by the microbiome, especially the bacterial microbiome, by next-generation sequencing, which helps identify the species and quantity of these microorganisms. A timely update and summary of the developments in research into the microbiome and cancer treatment are necessary to promote future studies. Some reviews have covered the role of the human microbiome and cancer treatment [25, 30], there is still no clear direction for future research. The reported mechanisms of this relationship, such as metabolism, the immune response and the translocation of the microbiome, is discussed to promote future research into this association in other cancer types

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