The Role of the Microbiome in Cancer and the Development of Cancer Therapeutics

Cancer is caused by a compilation of hereditary and environmental factors. In the past decade, next-generation sequencing has revealed the extent to which the microbiome influences the maintenance of homeostasis and therefore the prevention of diseases such as cancer. Current research efforts explore the interaction between cancer and the microbiome, and the results are anticipated to transform how clinicians approach cancer treatment. There is a plausible transition from the use of human genetic biomarkers to microbiomic biomarkers for genomic diagnostics. Considering the expanding knowledge of the ways in which the microbiome can affect the development of cancer, clinicians treating cancer patients should be considerate of how the microbiome can influence the host-drug or microbiome-cancer interactions. Recognition of the importance of the microbiome within the field of oncology is pertinent to understanding and furthering cancer development and treatment.