Current issue
Archive
Manuscripts accepted
About the Journal
Editorial office
Editorial board
Section Editors
Abstracting and indexing
Subscription
Contact
Ethical standards and procedures
Most read articles
Instructions for authors
Article Processing Charge (APC)
Regulations of paying article processing charge (APC)
STATE OF THE ART PAPER
Potential role of microbiota in ovarian cancer treatment
1
Division of Gynaecological Oncology, Department of Gynaecology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland
2
Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland
3
Center for Pediatric, Adolescent Gynecology and Sexology, Division of Gynecology, Department of Gynecology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland
4
Faculty of Medicine, Collegium Medicum, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University, Warsaw, Poland
5
Division of Gynaecology, Department of Gynaecology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland
6
Institute of Human Biology and Evolution, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Poland
Submission date: 2025-01-31
Final revision date: 2025-08-14
Acceptance date: 2025-08-14
Online publication date: 2025-12-18
Corresponding author
Katarzyna M. Plagens-Rotman
Center for Pediatric, Adolescent Gynecology and Sexology Division of Gynecology Department of Gynecology Poznan University of Medical Sciences 61-758 Poznan, Poland Phone: +48 61 8419 490
Center for Pediatric, Adolescent Gynecology and Sexology Division of Gynecology Department of Gynecology Poznan University of Medical Sciences 61-758 Poznan, Poland Phone: +48 61 8419 490
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
In recent years, the relationship between microbiota and various aspects of health has become a focal point for scientific investigation. The complex interplay between microbial communities and the development, progression, and treatment of gynaecological malignancies is a burgeoning field not yet fully understood. Recent research indicates that gut, vaginal, and uterine microbiota play a critical role in the response to treatments of ovarian cancer, and particularly in chemotherapy, anti-angiogenic therapy, and PARP inhibitors. Microbiota and microbial metabolites can modulate immune responses, drug metabolism, and angiogenesis, affecting the outcomes of therapy. This review explores the relationship between microbiota and anticancer therapies, and discusses the connection between dysbiosis and treatment resistance, highlighting the potential of microbiota as biomarkers and therapeutic targets in ovarian cancer treatment.
REFERENCES (50)
1.
Bray F, Laversanne M, Sung H, et al. Global cancer statistics 2022: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA Cancer J Clin 2024; 743: 229-63.
2.
Hairong Y, Dantong L, Fangyuan G, Qian L, Shikai L. Circ-VPS13C enhances cisplatin resistance in ovarian cancer via modulating the miR-106b-5p/YWHAZ axis. Arch Med Sci 2024; 20: 1249-67.
3.
Zhang R, Siu MKY, Ngan HYS, Chan KKL. Molecular biomarkers for the early detection of ovarian cancer. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23: 12041.
4.
Colombo N, Sessa C, du Bois A, et al.; Ovarian Cancer Consensus Conference Working Group. ESMO-ESGO consensus conference recommendations on ovarian cancer: pathology and molecular biology, early and advanced stages, borderline tumours and recurrent diseases. Ann Oncol 2019; 30: 672-705.
5.
Tattersall A, Ryan N, Wiggans AJ, Rogozińska E, Morrison J. Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors for the treatment of ovarian cancer. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2022; 2: CD07929.
6.
Baradács I, Teutsch B, Váradi A, et al. PARP inhibitor era in ovarian cancer treatment: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. J Ovarian Res 2024; 17: 53.
7.
Cho I, Blaser MJ. The human microbiome: at the interface of health and disease. Nat Rev Genet 2012; 13: 260-70.
8.
Cocomazzi G, Del Pup L, Contu V, et al. Gynecological cancers and microbiota dynamics: Insights into pathogenesis and therapy. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25: 2237.
9.
Morańska K, Englert-Golon M, Durda-Masny M, et al. Why does your uterus become malignant? The impact of the microbiome on endometrial carcinogenesis. Life (Basel) 2023; 13: 2269.
10.
Li Z, Xiong W, Liang Z, et al. Critical role of the gut microbiota in immune responses and cancer immunotherapy. J Hematol Oncol 2024; 17: 33.
11.
Di Luccia B, Molgora M, Khantakova D, et al. TREM2 deficiency reprograms intestinal macrophages and microbiota to enhance anti-PD-1 tumor immunotherapy. Sci Immunol 2024; 9: eadi5374.
12.
Viaud S, Saccheri F, Mignot G, et al. The intestinal microbiota modulates the anticancer immune effects of cyclophosphamide. Science 2013; 342: 971-6.
13.
Zhao LY, Mei JX, Yu G, et al. Role of the gut microbiota in anticancer therapy: from molecular mechanisms to clinical applications. Sig Transduct Target Ther 2023; 8: 201.
14.
Routy B, Le Chatelier E, Derosa L, et al. Gut microbiome influences efficacy of PD-1-based immunotherapy against epithelial tumors. Science 2018; 359: 91-7.
15.
Choi SY, Choi JH. Ovarian cancer and the microbiome: connecting the dots for early diagnosis and therapeutic Innovations - a review. Medicina (Kaunas) 2024; 601: 516.
16.
Zhou Q, Meng Q. Insights into the microbial composition of intratumoral, reproductive tract, and gut microbiota in ovarian cancer patients. Adv Exp Med Biol 2024; 1452: 107-18.
17.
Kumari N, Kumari R, Dua A, et al. From gut to hormones: unraveling the role of gut microbiota in (Phyto) estrogen modulation in health and disease. Mol Nutr Food Res 2024; 68: e2300688.
18.
Englert-Golon M, Andrusiewicz M, Żbikowska A, et al. Altered expression of ESR1, ESR2, PELP1 and c-SRC genes is associated with ovarian cancer manifestation. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 9: 6216.
19.
Nené NR, Reisel D, Leimbach A, et al. Association between the cervicovaginal microbiome, BRCA1 mutation status, and risk of ovarian cancer: a case-control study. Lancet Oncol 2019; 20: 1171-82.
20.
Zhao X, Liu Z, Chen T. Potential role of vaginal microbiota in ovarian cancer carcinogenesis, progression and treatment. Pharmaceutics 2023; 15: 948.
21.
Zhang L, Cao T, Liu K, et al. Genetically predicted blood metabolites mediate relationships between gut microbiota and ovarian cancer: a Mendelian randomization study. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2024; 14: 1451880.
22.
Chambers LM, Esakov Rhoades EL, et al. Disruption of the gut microbiota confers cisplatin resistance in epithelial ovarian cancer. Cancer Res 2022; 82: 4654-69.
23.
Lv M, Lo C, Hsu CC, et al. Identification of enantiomeric byproducts during microalgae-mediated transformation of metoprolol by MS/MS spectrum based networking. Front Microbiol 2018; 9: 2115.
24.
Rüdesheim S, Wojtyniak JG, Selzer D, et al. Physiologically based pharmacokinetic modeling of metoprolol enantiomers and -Hydroxymetoprolol to describe CYP2D6 drug-gene interactions. Pharmaceutics 2020; 12: 1200.
25.
Maseda D, Ricciotti E. NSAID-gut microbiota interactions. Front Pharmacol 2020; 11: 1153.
26.
Zhang YL, Li ZJ, Gou HZ, Song XJ, Zhang L. The gut microbiota-bile acid axis: a potential therapeutic target for liver fibrosis. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2022; 12: 945368.
27.
Camelo-Castillo A, Rivera-Caravaca JM, Orenes-Piñero E, et al. Gut microbiota and the quality of oral anticoagulation in vitamin K antagonists users: a review of potential implications. J Clin Med 2021; 10: 715.
28.
Tong J, Zhang X, Fan Y, et al. Changes of intestinal microbiota in ovarian cancer patients treated with surgery and chemotherapy. Cancer Manag Res 2020; 12: 8125-35.
29.
Algrafi AS, Jamal AA, Ismaeel DM. Microbiota as a new target in cancer pathogenesis and treatment. Cureus 2023; 15: e47072.
30.
Flórez AB, Sierra M, Ruas-Madiedo P, Mayo B. Susceptibility of lactic acid bacteria, bifidobacteria and other bacteria of intestinal origin to chemotherapeutic agents. Int J Antimicrob Agents 2016; 48: 547-50.
31.
Vande Voorde J, Sabuncuoğlu S, Noppen S, et al. Nucleoside-catabolizing enzymes in mycoplasma-infected tumor cell cultures compromise the cytostatic activity of the anticancer drug gemcitabine. J Biol Chem 2014; 289: 13054-65.
32.
Han M, Wang N, Han W, Ban M, Sun T, Xu J. Vaginal and tumor microbiomes in gynecological cancer (Review). Oncol Lett 2023; 25: 153.
33.
Zhang M, Liu J, Xia Q. Role of gut microbiome in cancer immunotherapy: from predictive biomarker to therapeutic target. Exp Hematol Oncol 2023; 12: 84.
34.
Ohno M, Hasegawa M, Hayashi A, et al. Lipopolysaccharide O structure of adherent and invasive Escherichia coli regulates intestinal inflammation via complement C3. PLoS Pathog 2020; 16: e1008928.
35.
Wu X, Wu Y, He L, et al. Effects of the intestinal microbial metabolite butyrate on the development of colorectal cancer. J Cancer 2018; 9: 2510-7.
36.
Gomes S, Rodrigues AC, Pazienza V, Preto A. Modulation of the tumor microenvironment by microbiota-derived short-chain fatty acids: impact in colorectal cancer therapy. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24: 5069.
37.
Giambra, V, Pagliari, D, Rio P, et al. Gut microbiota, inflammatory bowel disease, and cancer: the role of guardians of innate immunity. Cells 2023; 12: 2654.
38.
Viswanathan S, Parida S, Lingipilli BT, Krishnan R, Podipireddy DR, Muniraj N. Role of gut microbiota in breast cancer and drug resistance. Pathogens 2023; 12: 468.
39.
Magar AG, Morya VK, Kwak MK, Oh JU, Noh KC. A molecular perspective on HIF-1 and angiogenic stimulator networks and their role in solid tumors: an update. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25: 3313.
40.
Englert Golon M, Tokłowicz M, Żbikowska A, et al. HIF1A, EPAS1 and VEGFA: angiogenesis and hypoxia related gene expression in endometrium and endometrial epithelial tumors. J Appl Genet 2025; doi: 10.1007/s13353-025-00939-7.
41.
Feng P, Xue X, Bukhari I, et al. Gut microbiota and its therapeutic implications in tumor microenvironment interactions. Front Microbiol 2024; 15: 1287077.
42.
Yang Q, Wang B, Zheng Q, et al. A review of gut microbiota-derived metabolites in tumor progression and cancer therapy. Adv Sci (Weinh) 2023; 10: e2207366.
43.
Okazawa-Sakai M, Sakai SA, Hyodo I, et al. Gut microbiome associated with PARP inhibitor efficacy in patients with ovarian cancer. J Gynecol Oncol 2024; 36: 21.
44.
Gao H, Nepovimova E, Heger Z, et al. Role of hypoxia in cellular senescence. Pharmacol Res 2023; 194: 106841.
45.
Zhou X, Hu G, Luo Z, et al. Probiotics alleviate paraneoplastic thrombocythemia of ovarian cancer: a randomized placebo-controlled trial. J Funct Foods 2024; 119: 106316.
46.
Xie B, Zhou X, Luo C, et al. Reversal of platinum-based chemotherapy resistance in ovarian cancer by naringin through modulation of the gut microbiota in a humanized nude mouse model. J Cancer 2024; 15: 4430-47.
47.
Wang Z, Qin X, Hu D, et al. Akkermansia supplementation reverses the tumor-promoting effect of the fecal microbiota transplantation in ovarian cancer. Cell Rep 2022; 41: 111890.
48.
Gopalakrishnan V, Helmink BA, Spencer CN, Reuben A, Wargo JA. The influence of the gut microbiome on cancer, immunity, and cancer immunotherapy. Cancer Cell 2018; 33: 570-80.
49.
Yu X, Li W, Li Z, Wu Q, Sun S. Influence of microbiota on tumor immunotherapy. Int J Biol Sci 2024; 20: 2264-94.
50.
Xu J, Peng JJ, Yang W, Fu K, Zhang Y. Vaginal microbiomes and ovarian cancer: a review. Am J Cancer Res 2020; 10: 743-56.
Share
RELATED ARTICLE
| eISSN: | 1896-9151 |
| ISSN: | 1734-1922 |
We process personal data collected when visiting the website. The function of obtaining information about users and their behavior is carried out by voluntarily entered information in forms and saving cookies in end devices. Data, including cookies, are used to provide services, improve the user experience and to analyze the traffic in accordance with the Privacy policy. Data are also collected and processed by Google Analytics tool (more).
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.
