Published online Mar 14, 2017. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v23.i10.1899
Peer-review started: October 7, 2016
First decision: October 28, 2016
Revised: December 6, 2016
Accepted: December 21, 2016
Article in press: December 21, 2016
Published online: March 14, 2017
Processing time: 160 Days and 16.9 Hours
To review microbiome alterations associated with pancreatic cancer, its potential utility in diagnostics, risk assessment, and influence on disease outcomes.
A comprehensive literature review was conducted by all-inclusive topic review from PubMed, MEDLINE, and Web of Science. The last search was performed in October 2016.
Diverse microbiome alterations exist among several body sites including oral, gut, and pancreatic tissue, in patients with pancreatic cancer compared to healthy populations.
Pilot study successes in non-invasive screening strategies warrant further investigation for future translational application in early diagnostics and to learn modifiable risk factors relevant to disease prevention. Pre-clinical investigations exist in other tumor types that suggest microbiome manipulation provides opportunity to favorably transform cancer response to existing treatment protocols and improve survival.
Core tip: Recent literature reports influences of microbiome alterations contributing to carcinogenesis of pancreatic cancer. The poor prognostics of pancreatic cancer are related to late recognition and treatment resistance, thus warranting investigations for modifiable risk factors, early screening biomarkers, and microenvironment elements that affect outcomes. Learning the role of microbiome in carcinogenesis may lead to identifying reliable, non-invasive screening strategies, and additional modifiable risk factors. Microbiome studies in pancreatic cancer could offer therapeutic targets and an extraordinary opportunity to favorably transform cancer response to existing treatment protocols and improve survival by reduction of cancer-related cachexia by manipulating human gut microbiota.