Microbes and inflammation in colorectal cancer

Over the past decade, there has been a renaissance in research on physiologic interactions between humans and their resident microbiota, the vast numbers of bacteria, fungi, and viruses that live within and on the body. The burgeoning interest in what constitutes the human microbiome has also focused on the contribution of microbes to carcinogenesis. Given the microbiomes of malignancies arising at mucosal sites, the microbiota may prove as influential as stromal cells and immune cells in the tumor microenvironment. Herein, we focus on the interconnections of microbes and inflammation in colorectal carcinogenesis.