TY - JOUR
T1 - Dissecting the role of the gut microbiome and fecal microbiota transplantation in radio- and immunotherapy treatment of colorectal cancer
AU - Van Dingenen, Lena
AU - Segers, Charlotte
AU - Wouters, Shari
AU - Ahmed, Mohamed Mysara
AU - Leys, Natalie
AU - Kumar-Singh, Samir
AU - Malhotra-Kumar, Surbhi
AU - Van Houdt, Rob
N1 - Score=10
Funding Information:
The author(s) declare that no financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2023 Van Dingenen, Segers, Wouters, Mysara, Leys, Kumar-Singh, Malhotra-Kumar and Van Houdt.
PY - 2023/11/16
Y1 - 2023/11/16
N2 - Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers and poses a major burden on the human health worldwide. At the moment, treatment of CRC consists of surgery in combination with (neo)adjuvant chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. More recently, immune checkpoint blockers (ICBs) have also been approved for CRC treatment. In addition, recent studies have shown that radiotherapy and ICBs act synergistically, with radiotherapy stimulating the immune system that is activated by ICBs. However, both treatments are also associated with severe toxicity and efficacy issues, which can lead to temporary or permanent discontinuation of these treatment programs. There's growing evidence pointing to the gut microbiome playing a role in these issues. Some microorganisms seem to contribute to radiotherapy-associated toxicity and hinder ICB efficacy, while others seem to reduce radiotherapy-associated toxicity or enhance ICB efficacy. Consequently, fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) has been applied to reduce radio- and immunotherapy-related toxicity and enhance their efficacies. Here, we have reviewed the currently available preclinical and clinical data in CRC treatment, with a focus on how the gut microbiome influences radio- and immunotherapy toxicity and efficacy and if these treatments could benefit from FMT.
AB - Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers and poses a major burden on the human health worldwide. At the moment, treatment of CRC consists of surgery in combination with (neo)adjuvant chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. More recently, immune checkpoint blockers (ICBs) have also been approved for CRC treatment. In addition, recent studies have shown that radiotherapy and ICBs act synergistically, with radiotherapy stimulating the immune system that is activated by ICBs. However, both treatments are also associated with severe toxicity and efficacy issues, which can lead to temporary or permanent discontinuation of these treatment programs. There's growing evidence pointing to the gut microbiome playing a role in these issues. Some microorganisms seem to contribute to radiotherapy-associated toxicity and hinder ICB efficacy, while others seem to reduce radiotherapy-associated toxicity or enhance ICB efficacy. Consequently, fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) has been applied to reduce radio- and immunotherapy-related toxicity and enhance their efficacies. Here, we have reviewed the currently available preclinical and clinical data in CRC treatment, with a focus on how the gut microbiome influences radio- and immunotherapy toxicity and efficacy and if these treatments could benefit from FMT.
KW - Colorectal cancer
KW - Fecal microbiota transplantation
KW - Immunotherapy
KW - Microbiota
KW - Radiotherapy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85178239074&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3389/fcimb.2023.1298264
DO - 10.3389/fcimb.2023.1298264
M3 - Literature review
C2 - 38035338
AN - SCOPUS:85178239074
SN - 2235-2988
VL - 13
JO - Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology
JF - Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology
M1 - 1298264
ER -