The microbiota and microbiome in pancreatic cancer: more influential than expected

• Published in: Molecular cancer Vol. 18; no. 1; pp. 97 - 15
• Main Authors: Wei, Miao-Yan, Shi, Si, Liang, Chen, Meng, Qing-Cai, Hua, Jie, Zhang, Yi-Yin, Liu, Jiang, Zhang, Bo, Xu, Jin, Yu, Xian-Jun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 20-05-2019; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Adenocarcinoma; Alcohol; Bacteria; Carcinogenesis; Carcinoma, Pancreatic Ductal - microbiology; Cell growth; Diabetes; Dysbiosis - complications; Dysbiosis - diagnosis; Early Diagnosis; Genetic aspects; Humans; Immune system; Immunotherapy; Inflammation; Medical research; Medicine, Experimental; Metabolism; Metabolites; Microbiome; Microbiomes; Microbiota; Microbiota (Symbiotic organisms); Nutrition research; Obesity; Pancreatic cancer; Pancreatic Neoplasms - microbiology; Pancreatitis; Researchers; Review; Smoking; Tumor Microenvironment; Tumorigenesis; Viruses; Microbiota; Immunotherapy; Pancreatic cancer; Tumor Microenvironment; Inflammation; Metabolism; Microbiome
• ISSN: 1476-4598; 1476-4598
• DOI: 10.1186/s12943-019-1008-0

Microbiota is just beginning to be recognized as an important player in carcinogenesis and the interplay among microbes is greater than expected. Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a highly lethal disease for which mortality closely parallels incidence. Early detection would provide the best opportunity to increase survival rates. Specific well-studied oral, gastrointestinal, and intrapancreatic microbes and some kinds of hepatotropic viruses and bactibilia may have potential etiological roles in pancreatic carcinogenesis, or modulating individual responses to oncotherapy. Concrete mechanisms mainly involve perpetuating inflammation, regulating the immune system-microbe-tumor axis, affecting metabolism, and altering the tumor microenvironment. The revolutionary technology of omics has generated insight into cancer microbiomes. A better understanding of the microbiota in PDAC might lead to the establishment of screening or early-stage diagnosis methods, implementation of cancer bacteriotherapy, adjustment of therapeutic efficacy even alleviating the adverse effects, creating new opportunities and fostering hope for desperate PDAC patients.