Shaping death: how the microbiome regulates tumour cell demise and therapy response

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Microbiology
• Cell Biology

Background:

• Cell death is crucial for tissue homeostasis and the tumor microenvironment.
• Cancer cells often evade cell death, contributing to malignancy and treatment resistance.
• Non-malignant cell death can cause adverse effects during cancer therapy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the intersection of cell death and the microbiome in cancer.
• To summarize how microbes and metabolites influence cancer cell death pathways.
• To explore how this crosstalk impacts anticancer therapy response.

Main Methods:

• Literature review integrating knowledge on cell death and microbiome interactions.
• Focus on key metabolic mediators influencing cell fate decisions.
• Analysis of the bidirectional relationship between cell death and microbial ecosystems.

Main Results:

• The tumor and gut microbiomes critically modulate cancer cell death processes.
• Cell death influences microbial ecosystems by altering nutrient availability and immune signaling.
• Microbial metabolites play a role in cancer cell fate decisions.

Conclusions:

• The interplay between cell death and the microbiome is underexplored but critical in cancer.
• Understanding this bidirectional crosstalk opens avenues for precision microbiome-informed cancer therapies.
• Targeting the tumor-microbiome axis can help "preserve the good and eliminate the bad" in cancer treatment.