Petkevicius V, Lehr K, Kupcinskas J, Link A. Fusobacterium nucleatum: Unraveling its potential role in gastric carcinogenesis. World J Gastroenterol 2024; 30(35): 3972-3984 [DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v30.i35.3972]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Alexander Link, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Infectious Diseases, Otto-von-Guericke University Hospital, Leipzigerstr. 44, Magdeburg 39120, Germany. alexander.link@med.ovgu.de
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
Minireviews
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This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Gastroenterol. Sep 21, 2024; 30(35): 3972-3984 Published online Sep 21, 2024. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v30.i35.3972
Fusobacterium nucleatum: Unraveling its potential role in gastric carcinogenesis
Vytenis Petkevicius, Konrad Lehr, Juozas Kupcinskas, Alexander Link
Vytenis Petkevicius, Juozas Kupcinskas, Department of Gastroenterology, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas 44307, Lithuania
Konrad Lehr, Alexander Link, Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Infectious Diseases, Otto-von-Guericke University Hospital, Magdeburg 39120, Germany
Juozas Kupcinskas, Institute for Digestive Research, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas 50161, Lithuania
Co-first authors: Vytenis Petkevicius and Konrad Lehr.
Author contributions: Petkevicius V, Lehr K, Kupcinskas J, Link A conducted the literature review and analysis, and drafting the manuscript; Lehr K and Link A conducted graphic design; Petkevicius V, Lehr K, Kupcinskas J and Link A conducted critical revision, editing and approval of the final version; Link A conducted conception and design of the study, and was guarantor of the study.
Supported byThe European Union’s “Horizon Europe Framework Program” Grant Agreement, No. 101095359 (AIDA project under the call "HORIZON-HLTH-2022-STAYHLTH-02).
Conflict-of-interest statement: Dr. Link reports grants from EFRE, grants from German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, personal fees from Janssen, personal fees from Ferring, personal fees from Luvos, during the conduct of the study.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Alexander Link, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Infectious Diseases, Otto-von-Guericke University Hospital, Leipzigerstr. 44, Magdeburg 39120, Germany. alexander.link@med.ovgu.de
Received: May 13, 2024 Revised: August 9, 2024 Accepted: August 27, 2024 Published online: September 21, 2024 Processing time: 122 Days and 5.2 Hours
Abstract
Fusobacterium nucleatum (F. nucleatum) is a Gram-negative anaerobic bacterium that plays a key role in the development of oral inflammation, such as periodontitis and gingivitis. In the last 10 years, F. nucleatum has been identified as a prevalent bacterium associated with colorectal adenocarcinoma and has also been linked to cancer progression, metastasis and poor disease outcome. While the role of F. nucleatum in colon carcinogenesis has been intensively studied, its role in gastric carcinogenesis is still poorly understood. Although Helicobacter pylori infection has historically been recognized as the strongest risk factor for the development of gastric cancer (GC), with recent advances in DNA sequencing technology, other members of the gastric microbial community, and F. nucleatum in particular, have received increasing attention. In this review, we summarize the existing knowledge on the involvement of F. nucleatum in gastric carcinogenesis and address the potential translational and clinical significance of F. nucleatum in GC.
Core Tip: Fusobacterium nucleatum (F. nucleatum) plays a key role in the development of oral inflammatory diseases and is a member of the oral microbiota. Recently, however, F. nucleatum has been associated with colorectal cancer and several other malignancies, including gastric cancer (GC). In particular, F. nucleatum has been associated with patient outcomes, suggesting its role in clinical practice. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge on the potential role of F. nucleatum in the development and progression of GC from a basic and translational perspective and highlight its potential therapeutic relevance.
