Improve gut microbiome: a new horizon of cancer therapy

We are now beginning to understand that the gut dysbiosis is a risk factor for various human diseases including inflammatory bowel diseases, allergies, metabolic disorders and liver disease. An increasing number of studies have also suggested that gut microbiota is closely associated with tumors such as colorectal cancer. Increasing impact of gut dysbiosis is recognized with the progression of liver injury from mild fatty liver disease to advanced liver cirrhosis (1), where the enterohepatic circulation is considered to strengthen a relation between gut microbiome and the liver. However, the clinical studies suggesting the linkage of gut dysbiosis with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are scarce and inconclusive. The insight on the role of gut microbes in hepatocarcinogenesis mainly comes from animal experiments (2).