Implications of the microbiome in the etiology and treatment of prostate cancer in humans.1914

Abstract

The human body is inhabited by microbial cells which coexist balanced and harmoniously in several organs, participating on its proper functions; this large amount of bacteria is known as the human microbiome. If their delicate proportion is altered, metabolic or physiological alterations appears and they could be spread to the whole organism; an example of this latter is the decrease in the thickness of the intestinal mucosa that could allow bacterial infiltration as well as its metabolic derivatives into the bloodstream, causing inflammation that can promote carcinogenic processes in some tissues. In this review we focus on the relationship between the imbalance of these bacteria and the incidence of prostate cancer, as well as the influence of the microbiome over several protocols applied to cancer patients such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy. Finally, we will discuss the new experimental therapies that act in cooperation with the microbiome.