Molecules and Cells

Korean Society for Molecular and Cellular Biology (한국분자세포생물학회)
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The Role of Gut Microbiota in Modulating Tumor Growth and Anticancer Agent Efficacy

  • Kim, Jaeho (Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)) ;
  • Lee, Heung Kyu (Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST))
  • Received : 2021.02.03
  • Accepted : 2021.03.20
  • Published : 2021.05.31
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Abstract

An increasing number of studies have revealed an interaction between gut microbiota and tumors. The enrichment of specific bacteria strains in the intestines has been found to modulate tumor growth and influence the mechanisms of tumor treatment. Various bacteria are involved in modulating the effects of chemotherapeutic drugs currently used to treat patients with cancer, and they affect not only gastrointestinal tract tumors but also distant organ tumors. In addition, changes in the gut microbiota are known to be involved in the antitumor immune response as well as the modulation of the intestinal immune system. As a result, the gut microbiota plays an important role in modulating the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors. Therefore, gut microbiota could be considered as an adjuvant treatment option with other cancer treatment or as another marker for predicting treatment response. In this review, we examine how gut microbiota affects cancer treatments.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This research was supported by the Bio & Medical Technology Development Program of the National Research Foundation (NRF) & funded by the Korean government (MSIT) (No. 2021M3A9H3015688).

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