Systematic Reviews
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Pharmacol Ther. Jun 5, 2025; 16(2): 105375
Published online Jun 5, 2025. doi: 10.4292/wjgpt.v16.i2.105375
Exploring the gut microbiome’s influence on cancer-associated anemia: Mechanisms, clinical challenges, and innovative therapies
Ayrton Bangolo, Behzad Amoozgar, Maryam Habibi, Elizabeth Simms, Vignesh K Nagesh, Shruti Wadhwani, Nikita Wadhwani, Auda Auda, Daniel Elias, Charlene Mansour, Robert Abbott, Nisrene Jebara, Lili Zhang, Sarvarinder Gill, Kareem Ahmed, Andrew Ip, Andre Goy, Christina Cho
Ayrton Bangolo, Behzad Amoozgar, Lili Zhang, Sarvarinder Gill, Department of Hematology and Oncology, John Theurer Cancer Center, Hackensack, NJ 07601, United States
Maryam Habibi, Department of Research, Tulane National Primate Research Center, Covington, LA 70433, United States
Elizabeth Simms, Department of Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27101, United States
Vignesh K Nagesh, Shruti Wadhwani, Nikita Wadhwani, Department of Internal Medicine, Hackensack Palisades Medical Center, North Bergen, NJ 07047, United States
Auda Auda, Department of Family Medicine, Palisades Medical Center, North Bergen, NJ 07047, United States
Daniel Elias, Charlene Mansour, Department of Internal Medicine, Palisades Medical Center, North Bergen, NJ 07047, United States
Robert Abbott, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ 07103, United States
Nisrene Jebara, Columbia University School of Nursing, New York, NY 10032, United States
Kareem Ahmed, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, United States
Andrew Ip, Andre Goy, Division of Lymphoma, John Theurer Cancer Center, Hackensack, NJ 07601, United States
Christina Cho, Division of Stem Cell Transplant and Cellular Therapy, John Theurer Cancer Center, Hackensack, NJ 07601, United States
Author contributions: Ip A, Goy A, and Cho C supervised the project; Bangolo A, Amoozgar B, Habibi M, Simms E, Nagesh VK, Wadhwani S, Wadhwani N, Auda A, Elias D, Mansour C, Abbott R, Jebara N, Zhang L, Gill S, Ahmed K, Ip A, Goy A, and Cho C searched the literature, wrote and revised the manuscript; all of the authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript to be published.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Authors report no conflicts of interest.
PRISMA 2009 Checklist statement: The authors have read the PRISMA 2009 Checklist, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the PRISMA 2009 Checklist.
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: Ayrton Bangolo, Department of Hematology and Oncology, John Theurer Cancer Center, 92 2nd Street, Hackensack, NJ 07601, United States. ayrton.bangolo@hmhn.org
Received: January 23, 2025
Revised: March 19, 2025
Accepted: March 20, 2025
Published online: June 5, 2025
Processing time: 134 Days and 6.9 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: The gut microbiome is increasingly recognized as a pivotal factor in cancer-associated anemia, influencing its pathophysiology, clinical manifestations, and potential therapeutic strategies. Dysbiosis, or microbial imbalance, is common in cancer patients and exacerbates anemia through mechanisms such as impaired iron absorption, heightened systemic inflammation, and suppression of erythropoiesis. Emerging evidence highlights how gut microbiota modulates iron metabolism, inflammatory cytokine production, and immune responses, linking microbial health directly to anemia severity. Promising interventions, including probiotics, prebiotics, fecal microbiota transplantation, and dietary modifications, aim to restore microbial balance, optimize iron bioavailability, and reduce inflammation. As research advances, microbiome-targeted therapies could transform anemia management, integrating seamlessly with existing treatments and offering personalized solutions for oncology patients. Further studies are needed to refine these approaches and establish microbiome-based biomarkers for anemia prediction and therapeutic monitoring.