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Revista de la Facultad de Medicina Humana
versión impresa ISSN 1814-5469versión On-line ISSN 2308-0531
Rev. Fac. Med. Hum. vol.24 no.2 Lima abr./jun. 2024 Epub 29-Abr-2024
http://dx.doi.org/10.25176/rfmh.v24i2.6530
Letter to the editor
The role of the microbiome in the development, progression and treatment of cancer
1Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina Humana, Universidad Ricardo Palma. Lima, Perú.
Dear Editor,
It is known that there is a wide variety of extensive and diverse populations of bacteria, viruses, and fungi occupying every surface of the body1. It is estimated that there are nearly 30 trillion bacterial cells living within each human being, and there is a genetic diversity 100 times higher than that of bacteria, encoding metabolic capabilities that influence their microbial ecosystem and the host tissue's specific immune system2. These microbes are collectively known as the human microbiota, while the set of microorganisms, genes, and metabolites that inhabit a particular place are known as the microbiome3.
Knowing that the microbiome is present in different and large parts of our body, it has been shown to be related to the development and progression of certain diseases, such as cancer. This relationship has become increasingly relevant in recent years, as there is evidence that the microbiome influences the development, progression, and even treatment of oncological diseases in both positive and negative ways4-6.
Despite the importance of this topic, there is very little scientific evidence available, as conducting research with these variables is challenging and costly for various reasons. Each type of cancer has its own characteristics, as does each individual who suffers from the pathology7. On the other hand, most microbiome studies are conducted through next-generation sequencing (NGS), which demands a relatively high cost8.
The following table presents the main findings of recent research studies:
| N° | Author, place and date | Title | Conclusions |
| 1 | Arjona Hernandez(7) España, 2024 | Microbiota y cáncer | Microorganisms from the microbiome cause DNA damage, leading to somatic mutations, which can interfere with cancer growth and spread. There are positive effects of the microbiota on cancer, such as detoxification of dietary components, reduction of inflammation, and regulation of cell proliferation. |
| 2 | Yiwen Long, et al.(9) China, 2023 | Relación causal entre la microbiota intestinal y los cánceres: un estudio de aleatorización mendeliana de dos muestras | There is evidence of a direct causal relationship between the genetics of the gut microbiome and cancer, with different associations depending on the type of cancer. The gastrointestinal microbiota is considered an important micro-environmental factor in preventive or risk development for various diseases, including cancer. |
| 3 | Nyssa Cullin, et al.(2) Alemania, 2021 | Microbioma y cáncer | Each microbial ecosystem influences cancer development in certain ways, showing community-level interactions mediated by altered microbiome configurations, direct interaction of individual members, secreted pathways, or modulated metabolites. Additionally, the intratumoral microbiome also has some local effect on oncogenesis. |
| 4 | Gregory Sepich, et al.(10) USA, 2021 | El microbioma y el cáncer humano | Some interactions between the microbiome and the human immune system are reflected in cytokine signaling pathways, microbial metabolic effects, and antigenic mimicry of cancer cells. Microbial metabolites are involved in regulating tumor somatic mutation phenotypes and modulating the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors. There is an effort to use the immunomodulatory effects of the microbiota to alter its composition for use in immunotherapy. |
| 5 | Vyara Matson, et al.(5) Chicago, 2021 | El cáncer y el microbioma: influencia de la microbiota comensal en el cáncer, las respuestas inmunitarias y la inmunoterapia | The development of clinical research on microbiome-based therapies is based on the interference of systemic immune responses caused by the microbiota and its ability to positively and/or negatively influence the efficacy of immunotherapy. |
| 6 | Francisco Arvelo, et al.(4) Venezuela, 2021 | Cáncer y Microbiota | The microbiota directly affects the development and progression of carcinogenesis, where specific bacteria are involved in genetic instability, cell proliferation, susceptibility to host immune responses, and response to antitumor therapy. |
| 7 | Sofia A. Tsvetikova, Elena I. Koshel(11) Rusia, 2020 | Microbiota y cáncer: mecanismos celulares del huésped activados por metabolitos microbianos intestinales | Microbial metabolites from the diet can trigger cell cycle alterations, influencing the carcinogenesis process by either promoting or suppressing it. The antitumor power of short-chain fatty acids and polyphenols is highlighted. |
| 8 | Silvia Vivarelli, et al.(6) Italia, 2019 | Microbiota intestinal y cáncer: de la patogénesis a la terapia | The dual effects of the microbiome in the pathological process of cancer are evidenced, as the by-products generated from it can directly modulate the epithelium where it resides or modulate the immune system. The importance of probiotics in helping to fight against tumorigenesis is emphasized. |
| 9 | Muhammad Hassan Raza(12) Pakistan, 2018 | Microbiota en el desarrollo y tratamiento del cáncer. | The quantity and species within the microbiome vary according to their location within the same organ and also vary from one individual to another, influencing the development of various diseases, such as cancer. However, the absence of a microbiome in certain organs does not exclude them from experiencing an oncological process, as exposure to microorganism-associated molecular patterns (MAPs) and bacterial metabolic products also influence carcinogenesis. |
For the aforementioned reasons, it is proposed that there is a relationship between the microbiome and cancer. However, it remains a challenge to standardize the details due to the heterogeneity of patients, the microbiome, and the existing types of cancer. This makes it crucial to understand and design research strategies for studying the microbiome and its interactions associated with cancer, with the aim of understanding processes, developing preventive measures, and increasingly effective treatments, such as the case of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, which has a protective effect against cancer linked to this virus.
Currently, the Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias Biomédicas of the Universidad Ricardo Palma (INICIB-URP) is developing research projects on the microbiome and breast cancer, in order to expand knowledge on this subject.
REFERENCES
1. Ursell LK, Metcalf JL, Parfrey LW, Knight R. Defining the Human Microbiome. Nutr Rev. 2012;70(Suppl 1):S38-44. doi:10.1111/j.1753-4887.2012.00493.x [ Links ]
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6. Vivarelli S, Salemi R, Candido S, Falzone L, Santagati M, Stefani S, et al. Gut Microbiota and Cancer: From Pathogenesis to Therapy. Cancers. 2019;11(1):38. doi:10.3390/cancers11010038 [ Links ]
7. Arjona Hernández S. Microbiota y cáncer. NPunto. 2024;7(71):4-30. Disponible en: https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=9399381 [ Links ]
8. Deneault S. Sequencing the microbiome: Are you getting the full story? [Internet]. [citado el 22 de mayo de 2024]. Disponible en: https://blog.dnagenotek.com/microbiome/sequencing-the-microbiome-are-you-getting-the-full-story [ Links ]
9. Long Y, Tang L, Zhou Y, Zhao S, Zhu H. Causal relationship between gut microbiota and cancers: a two-sample Mendelian randomisation study. BMC Med. 2023;21(1):66. doi:10.1186/s12916-023-02761-6 [ Links ]
10. Sepich-Poore GD, Zitvogel L, Straussman R, Hasty J, Wargo JA, Knight R. The microbiome and human cancer. Science. 2021;371(6536):eabc4552. doi:10.1126/science.abc4552 [ Links ]
11. Tsvetikova SA, Koshel EI. Microbiota and cancer: host cellular mechanisms activated by gut microbial metabolites. Int J Med Microbiol. 2020;310(4):151425. doi:10.1016/j.ijmm.2020.151425 [ Links ]
12. Raza MH, Gul K, Arshad A, Riaz N, Waheed U, Rauf A, et al. Microbiota in cancer development and treatment. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol. 2019;145(1):49-63. doi:10.1007/s00432-018-2816-0 [ Links ]
8Article published by the Journal of the faculty of Human Medicine of the Ricardo Palma University. It is an open access article, distributed under the terms of the Creatvie Commons license: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International, CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), that allows non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided that the original work is duly cited. For commercial use, please contact revista.medicina@urp.edu.pe.
Received: May 05, 2024; Accepted: June 06, 2024
Este es un artículo publicado en acceso abierto bajo una licencia Creative Commons
