Microbes and Cancer: Friends or Faux?
Cancer is one of the most aggressive and deadly diseases in the world, representing the second leading cause of death. It is a multifactorial disease, in which genetic alterations play a key role, but several environmental factors also contribute to its development and progression. Infections induce...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2020-04-01
|
| Series: | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/21/9/3115 |
| _version_ | 1797569412177330176 |
|---|---|
| author | Maria Manuel Azevedo Cidália Pina-Vaz Fátima Baltazar |
| author_facet | Maria Manuel Azevedo Cidália Pina-Vaz Fátima Baltazar |
| author_sort | Maria Manuel Azevedo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Cancer is one of the most aggressive and deadly diseases in the world, representing the second leading cause of death. It is a multifactorial disease, in which genetic alterations play a key role, but several environmental factors also contribute to its development and progression. Infections induced by certain viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites constitute risk factors for cancer, being chronic infection associated to the development of certain types of cancer. On the other hand, susceptibility to infectious diseases is higher in cancer patients. The state of the host immune system plays a crucial role in the susceptibility to both infection and cancer. Importantly, immunosuppressive cancer treatments increase the risk of infection, by decreasing the host defenses. Furthermore, alterations in the host microbiota is also a key factor in the susceptibility to develop cancer. More recently, the identification of a tumor microbiota, in which bacteria establish a symbiotic relationship with cancer cells, opened a new area of research. There is evidence demonstrating that the interaction between bacteria and cancer cells can modulate the anticancer drug response and toxicity. The present review focuses on the interaction between microbes and cancer, specifically aiming to: (1) review the main infectious agents associated with development of cancer and the role of microbiota in cancer susceptibility; (2) highlight the higher vulnerability of cancer patients to acquire infectious diseases; (3) document the relationship between cancer cells and tissue microbiota; (4) describe the role of intratumoral bacteria in the response and toxicity to cancer therapy. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T20:10:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5b429f4fb6334fe88cd8a35c8005109f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1661-6596 1422-0067 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T20:10:25Z |
| publishDate | 2020-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-5b429f4fb6334fe88cd8a35c8005109f2023-11-19T22:57:40ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences1661-65961422-00672020-04-01219311510.3390/ijms21093115Microbes and Cancer: Friends or Faux?Maria Manuel Azevedo0Cidália Pina-Vaz1Fátima Baltazar2Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, 4200-319 Porto, PortugalDepartment of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, 4200-319 Porto, PortugalLife and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, PortugalCancer is one of the most aggressive and deadly diseases in the world, representing the second leading cause of death. It is a multifactorial disease, in which genetic alterations play a key role, but several environmental factors also contribute to its development and progression. Infections induced by certain viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites constitute risk factors for cancer, being chronic infection associated to the development of certain types of cancer. On the other hand, susceptibility to infectious diseases is higher in cancer patients. The state of the host immune system plays a crucial role in the susceptibility to both infection and cancer. Importantly, immunosuppressive cancer treatments increase the risk of infection, by decreasing the host defenses. Furthermore, alterations in the host microbiota is also a key factor in the susceptibility to develop cancer. More recently, the identification of a tumor microbiota, in which bacteria establish a symbiotic relationship with cancer cells, opened a new area of research. There is evidence demonstrating that the interaction between bacteria and cancer cells can modulate the anticancer drug response and toxicity. The present review focuses on the interaction between microbes and cancer, specifically aiming to: (1) review the main infectious agents associated with development of cancer and the role of microbiota in cancer susceptibility; (2) highlight the higher vulnerability of cancer patients to acquire infectious diseases; (3) document the relationship between cancer cells and tissue microbiota; (4) describe the role of intratumoral bacteria in the response and toxicity to cancer therapy.https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/21/9/3115cancerinfectionmicrobiomecancer dysbiosistumor microbiomecancer therapy response |
| spellingShingle | Maria Manuel Azevedo Cidália Pina-Vaz Fátima Baltazar Microbes and Cancer: Friends or Faux? International Journal of Molecular Sciences cancer infection microbiome cancer dysbiosis tumor microbiome cancer therapy response |
| title | Microbes and Cancer: Friends or Faux? |
| title_full | Microbes and Cancer: Friends or Faux? |
| title_fullStr | Microbes and Cancer: Friends or Faux? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Microbes and Cancer: Friends or Faux? |
| title_short | Microbes and Cancer: Friends or Faux? |
| title_sort | microbes and cancer friends or faux |
| topic | cancer infection microbiome cancer dysbiosis tumor microbiome cancer therapy response |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/21/9/3115 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mariamanuelazevedo microbesandcancerfriendsorfaux AT cidaliapinavaz microbesandcancerfriendsorfaux AT fatimabaltazar microbesandcancerfriendsorfaux |