Microbiomes and Cancer: A New Era in Diagnosis and Therapy

A topical collection in Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This collection belongs to the section "Microbiomes".

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Editor


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Collection Editor
Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Democritus University of Thrace, 68100 Alexandroupolis, Greece
Interests: probiotics; microbiota; microbiome; beneficial microbes; multi-omics; lactic acid bacteria
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Topical Collection Information

Dear Colleagues,

The host microbiota is a complex, dynamic community of bacteria, archaea, fungi and protozoa that plays an integral role in gastrointestinal and extraintestinal homeostasis. The contribution of the microbiota to oncogenesis and response to anticancer therapies is a topic of intense research. Indeed, a dysbiotic gut may promote tumorigenesis by sustaining low-grade inflammation and inducing aberrant cell proliferation. Moreover, the involvement of specific pathobionts (i.e., Helicobacter pylori and Fusobacterium nucleatum) in the development of gastrointestinal cancer has been highlighted in recent studies. In this vein, mechanistic insight into the contribution of specific microbes to carcinogenesis may support the design of minimally invasive prognostic and diagnostic tools.

At the same time, breakthrough studies have linked the composition and function of the microbiome to the response to anticancer therapy. Specifically, animal and clinical studies show that commensal as well as probiotic bacteria may modulate the response to chemotherapy, actinotherapy, and immunotherapy. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and CAR-T cell therapies have, recently, gained traction due to the lasting effects and better tolerance in patients with solid tumours compared to conventional treatment. However, some individuals show limited response or even resistance to these modalities. To this end, elucidating the contribution of microbiomes to treatment response may support the design of patient-specific strategies, including fecal microbiota transplantation, with increased efficacy and safety.

As the Collection Editor of this Collection, Ι would like to invite you to submit original research articles, reviews, and short communications on the role of microbiomes in cancer prognosis, diagnosis, and therapy.

Dr. Alex Galanis
Collection Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • microbiome
  • animal models
  • clinical studies
  • CAR-T cell therapy
  • anticancer therapy
  • cancer immunotherapy
  • cancer prognosis
  • cancer diagnosis
  • pathobionts
  • probiotics
  • fecal microbiota transplantation

Published Papers (1 paper)

2025

17 pages, 4794 KiB  
Article
Unveiling Microbiota Profiles in Saliva and Pancreatic Tissues of Patients with Pancreatic Cancer
by Alper Uguz, Can Muftuoglu, Ufuk Mert, Tufan Gumus, Deniz Ece, Milad Asadi, Ozlem Ulusan Bagci and Ayse Caner
Microorganisms 2025, 13(1), 119; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms13010119 - 9 Jan 2025
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Abstract
The pancreas, previously considered a sterile organ, has recently been shown to harbor its own microbiota that may influence tumor biology and patient outcomes. Despite increasing interest in the impact of the microbiome on cancer, the relationship between pancreatic tissue and oral microbiomes [...] Read more.
The pancreas, previously considered a sterile organ, has recently been shown to harbor its own microbiota that may influence tumor biology and patient outcomes. Despite increasing interest in the impact of the microbiome on cancer, the relationship between pancreatic tissue and oral microbiomes in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains limited. In this study, the oral and pancreas tissue microbiomes of patients with PDAC were compared to patients with other periampullary cancers (DC/AC) and a healthy control group using 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. The results showed a significant reduction in microbial diversity in the saliva of cancer patients compared to healthy controls, while the PDAC patients exhibited a distinct microbial profile in their pancreatic tissues, consisting predominantly of Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, and Actinobacter, after filtering the microbiome of the indoor environment. Notably, the presence of oral bacteria such as Anoxybacillus, Clostridium, and Bacillus in pancreatic tissues suggests potential translocation from the oral cavity. This study emphasizes the importance of understanding the role of body fluid and tissue microbiota in pancreatic cancer, proposing that oral dysbiosis may contribute to disease progression. Moreover, the results suggest that the microbiome of the indoor environment in which samples are collected and analyzed is also important in microbiota analysis studies. Full article
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