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MICROBIOME

Integrating microbiomics in cancer management

Nature Reviews Cancer volume 21, pages 684–685 (2021)Cite this article

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The human microbiome, the sum of microorganisms that live within us, has attracted a lot of attention as a major player in health and diseases. The recent advances in the field of microbiomics revealed that bacteria are major effectors of genomics (for example, Escherichia coli pks+ inducing APC gene mutations) and epigenomics (for example, Helicobacter pylori inducing gene methylation in gastric mucosa) and play major roles in many cancers. The magnitude of such involvement is increasingly appreciated, especially in regards to the gut microbiome that has local and systemic effects.

In 2017, Bullman et al. showed that Fusobacterium is persistently associated with primary human colorectal cancers (CRCs) and distant liver metastases. It also survived in patient-derived xenografts (PDXs) of CRCs through multiple passages. Treatment of Fusobacterium-harboring PDX mice with the antibiotic metronidazole decreased Fusobacterium load, cancer cell proliferation and tumour growth.

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References

Original article

  • Bullman, S. et al. Analysis of Fusobacterium persistence and antibiotic response in colorectal cancer. Science 358, 1443–1448 (2017)

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  1. Howard University Pathology Dept. Internal Medicine & Cancer Center, Washington D.C., USA

    Hassan Brim & Hassan Ashktorab

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  1. Hassan Brim
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  2. Hassan Ashktorab
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Correspondence to Hassan Brim.

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Brim, H., Ashktorab, H. Integrating microbiomics in cancer management. Nat Rev Cancer 21, 684–685 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41568-021-00392-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41568-021-00392-8

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