Intratumoral microbiota in colorectal cancer - focus on specific distribution and potential mechanisms

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Miles

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a highly prevalent and lethal malignancy worldwide, creating substantial health and social burdens. Next-generation sequencing has enabled discovery of CRC intratumoral microbiota, offering new research directions. This review integrates progress on how intratumoral microbiota relate to CRC progression and explains differences in their relative abundance and community composition across colorectal tumors by anatomical location, molecular subtypes, tumor stages, and spatial distribution. Intratumoral microbiota can shape development by modulating colonic epithelial cells, tumor cells, and the tumor microenvironment, potentially driving DNA damage, apoptosis, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Effects appear context-dependent across microbiota types.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages17

Reading Time43 min

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Abstract

Intratumoral microbiota and CRC progression

Spatial distribution, abundance, and mechanisms

Future directions

Long etal. Cell Communication and Signaling (2024) 22:455 [https://doi.org/10.1186/s12964-024-01831-3](https://doi.org/10.1186/s12964-024-01831-3) Cell Communication and Signaling REVIEW Open Access Intratumoral microbiota in colorectal cancer: focus on specific distribution and potential mechanisms Jing Long1, Jiamei Wang1, Chong Xiao1,2, Fengming You1,3, Yifang Jiang1* and Xueke Li1,2* Abstract Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most prevalent and lethal malignant tumors globally, posing significant health risks and societal burdens. Recently, advancements in next-generation sequencing technology have identified CRC intratumoral microbiota, thereby opening up novel avenues for further research. This review synthesizes the current advancements in CRC intratumoral microbiota and their impact on CRC progression and discusses the disparities in the relative abundance and community composition of CRC intratumoral microbiota across various colorectal tumors based on their anatomical location and molecular subtypes, as well as the tumor stages, and spatial tumor distribution. Intratumoral microbiota predominantly influence CRC development by modulating colonic epithelial cells, tumor cells, and the tumor microenvironment. Mechanistically, they can cause DNA damage, apoptosis and epithelialmesenchymal transition. The effects of different intratumoral microbiota on CRC have been shown to be two-fold. In the future, to address the limitations of existing studies, it is important to develop comprehensive experimental protocols and suitable in vitro models for elucidating more mechanisms of intratumoral microbiota on CRC, which will facilitate the clinical application of microbe-related therapeutic strategies in CRC and potentially other tumors. Keywords Intratumoral microbiota, Colorectal cancer, Specific distribution, Tumor microenvironment Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most prevalent malignant tumor globally, with the third highest incidence and second highest mortality rates, thereby representing the most prevalent malignancy in the digestive system [1]. Due to significant lifestyle alterations impacting microorganisms, with a notable trend towards a *Correspondence: Yifang Jiang [jiangyifang@cdutcm.edu.cn](jiangyifang@cdutcm.edu.cn)[ ](jiangyifang@cdutcm.edu.cn)Xueke Li [2017202040046@whu.edu.cn](2017202040046@whu.edu.cn) 1 TCM Regulating Metabolic Diseases Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 610036, China 2 Oncology Teaching and Research Department, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 610036, China 3 Institute of Oncology, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 610036, China younger demographic affected by CRC [2]. The hypoxicand nutritionally rich immunosuppressive milieu within CRC tissues provides an opportune environment for microbial survival. Microorganisms can coexist with host cells in various bodily regions, such as the skin, mouth and gastrointestinal tract, exerting influence on both physiological and pathological processes. Previous investigations have underscored the pivotal role of microorganisms in influencing tumorigenesis, progression, and prognosis [3, 4]. Bacteria were initially identified in tumor tissues over a century ago. However, the recognition of intratumoral microbes has been limited by challenges such as ineffective decontamination methods, the extremely low abundance of microbes within tumors, and substantial interference from host DNA. The advent of next-generation sequencing technologies has revolutionized research © The Author(s) 2024. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source,

FAQs

How do intratumoral microbiota relate to colorectal cancer progression?

Intratumoral microbiota influence CRC development by modulating colonic epithelial cells, tumor cells, and the tumor microenvironment, contributing to processes such as DNA damage, apoptosis, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition.

What factors are used to compare distribution and composition across colorectal tumors?

The review discusses disparities in intratumoral microbiota relative abundance and community composition according to anatomical location, molecular subtypes, tumor stages, and spatial tumor distribution.

Why is studying intratumoral microbes challenging?

Challenges include ineffective decontamination methods, extremely low microbial abundance in tumors, and substantial interference from host DNA.

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Miles