Microbiome and Development of Ovarian Cancer

Cancer of the female reproductive system involves abnormal cell growth that can potentially invade the peritoneal cavity resulting in malignancy and disease severity. Ovarian cancer is the most common type of gynecological cancer, which often remains undiagnosed until the later stages of the disease or until cancer has metastasized towards the peritoneum and omentum, compelling it to be a deadly disease complicating the prognosis and therapeutics. Environmental, genetics and microbial factors are the common mainsprings to the disease. Moreover, human beings harbor rich microbial diversity in various organs (gut, respiratory tract, reproductive tract, etc.) as a microbiome, crucially impacting health. Any dysbiosis in the microbial diversity or richness of the reproductive tract and gut can contribute to preconditions to develop/progress various diseases, including ovarian carcinoma. The microbiome may have a casual or associate role in ovarian cancer development, with Proteobacteria being the most dominant taxa in cancer patients and Firmicutes being the most dominant in a normal healthy adult female. A healthy estrogen-gut axis has an essential role in estrogen metabolism and utilization. However, estrobolome (Bacteriodete, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, and Proteobacteria) dysbiosis has an indirect association with ovarian carcinoma. Microbes associated with sexually transmitted diseases also impact the induction and progression of ovarian malignancies. Altogether, the microbes and their metabolites are incidental to the risk of developing ovarian carcinoma.