Abstract
Microbial roles in cancer formation, diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment have been disputed for centuries. Recent studies have provocatively claimed that bacteria, viruses, and/or fungi are pervasive among cancers, key actors in cancer immunotherapy, and engineerable to treat metastases. Despite these findings, the number of microbes known to directly cause carcinogenesis remains small. Critically evaluating and building frameworks for such evidence in light of modern cancer biology is an important task. In this Review, we delineate between causal and complicit roles of microbes in cancer and trace common themes of their influence through the host's immune system, herein defined as the immuno-oncology-microbiome axis. We further review evidence for intratumoral microbes and approaches that manipulate the host's gut or tumor microbiome while projecting the next phase of experimental discovery.
MeSH Terms
Adaptive Immunity
Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use
Antineoplastic Agents/therapeutic use
Bacteria/genetics
Bacterial Physiological Phenomena
Carcinogenesis
Gastrointestinal Microbiome
Genetic Engineering
Host Microbial Interactions
Humans
Immunomodulation
Immunotherapy
Lymphoid Tissue/immunology
Microbiota
Neoplasms/immunology,microbiology,therapy
Oncolytic Virotherapy
Tumor Microenvironment
Virus Physiological Phenomena
Chemicals
Anti-Bacterial Agents
Antineoplastic Agents
Authors & Affiliations
6 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Sepich-Poore Gregory D
ORCID
Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Zitvogel Laurence
ORCID
Gustave Roussy Cancer Campus (GRCC), Equipe Labellisée-Ligue Nationale contre le Cancer, Villejuif, France. | Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Medicale (INSERM) U1015, Villejuif, France. | Université Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France. | Center of Clinical Investigations in Biotherapies of Cancer (CICBT) 1428, Villejuif, France.
Straussman Ravid
ORCID
Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
Hasty Jeff
ORCID
Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA. | BioCircuits Institute, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA. | Molecular Biology Section, Division of Biological Science, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Wargo Jennifer A
ORCID
Department of Surgical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA. | Department of Genomic Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA.
Knight Rob
ORCID
Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
[email protected]. | Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA. | Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
