The human microbiome in relation to cancer risk: a systematic review of epidemiologic studies

I Huybrechts, S Zouiouich, A Loobuyck… - … Biomarkers & Prevention, 2020 - AACR
I Huybrechts, S Zouiouich, A Loobuyck, Z Vandenbulcke, E Vogtmann, S Pisanu, I Iguacel
Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, 2020AACR
The microbiome has been hypothesized to play a role in cancer development. Because of
the diversity of published data, an overview of available epidemiologic evidence linking the
microbiome with cancer is now needed. We conducted a systematic review using a tailored
search strategy in Medline and EMBASE databases to identify and summarize the current
epidemiologic literature on the relationship between the microbiome and different cancer
outcomes published until December 2019. We identified 124 eligible articles. The large …
Abstract
The microbiome has been hypothesized to play a role in cancer development. Because of the diversity of published data, an overview of available epidemiologic evidence linking the microbiome with cancer is now needed. We conducted a systematic review using a tailored search strategy in Medline and EMBASE databases to identify and summarize the current epidemiologic literature on the relationship between the microbiome and different cancer outcomes published until December 2019. We identified 124 eligible articles. The large diversity of parameters used to describe microbial composition made it impossible to harmonize the different studies in a way that would allow meta-analysis, therefore only a qualitative description of results could be performed. Fifty studies reported differences in the gut microbiome between patients with colorectal cancer and various control groups. The most consistent findings were for Fusobacterium, Porphyromonas, and Peptostreptococcus being significantly enriched in fecal and mucosal samples from patients with colorectal cancer. For the oral microbiome, significantly increased and decreased abundance was reported for Fusobacterium and Streptococcus, respectively, in patients with oral cancer compared with controls. Overall, although there was a large amount of evidence for some of these alterations, most require validation in high-quality, preferably prospective, epidemiologic studies.
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