The Link Between the Gut Microbiome and Bone Metastasis.

Area of Science:

• Microbiome research
• Cancer metastasis
• Bone biology

Background:

• The gut microbiome plays a crucial role in host metabolism, immunity, and defense against pathogens.
• Alterations in gut microbial communities are increasingly linked to cancer development and treatment outcomes.
• Tumor-associated microbiota can promote cancer progression, including epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and metastasis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the relationship between gut microbiome composition and bone homeostasis.
• To explore the role of the gut microbiome in the development of bone metastasis.
• To summarize clinical trials investigating the gut microbiome's impact on bone parameters.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of studies on gut microbiome, bone homeostasis, and cancer metastasis.
• Analysis of proposed mechanisms linking gut dysbiosis to bone metastasis.
• Overview of ongoing clinical trials on microbiota modulation and bone health.

Main Results:

• Gut dysbiosis may foster a premetastatic niche and immunosuppressive environment in bone via the gut-immune-bone axis.
• Microbial imbalances can disrupt bone modeling and remodeling, favoring metastatic growth.
• The gut microbiome's influence on bone metastasis is an emerging area of research.

Conclusions:

• The gut microbiome significantly impacts bone homeostasis and metastasis.
• Modulating the gut microbiota through diet, probiotics, prebiotics, or fecal microbiota transplantation may offer strategies to support bone health and manage cancer-related bone complications.