Microbiome Conundrum in Colon Cancer: Development, Progression, and Therapeutics

Colon cancer (CC) is a major global health challenge. Diet, microbiome, obesity, and family history are some of the etiological factors that contribute to the occurrence of CC. Recent investigations have established a strong correlation between colonic microbiota composition and CC. The microbiota protects or damages colonic cells, depending on the type of metabolites and their mechanism of action. Microbiota dysbiosis enhances CC-cell proliferation and promotes metastasis. The microbiota modulates CC progression by epigenetic modifications mediated through either microbial metabolites or structural component interactions with host colon epithelial cells. In addition, gut homeostasis correlates with modulation of host inflammatory and immune responses. This review highlights the microbiome conundrum in tumor growth and metastasis, epigenetic regulation, tumor microenvironment maintenance, microbiome-derived reactive oxygen species in tumor progression, and microbiome-derived metabolites in CC prevention. Understanding the microbiome conundrum in CC development and progression will aid in developing a diet-based therapeutic strategy for colon tumorigenesis management.