The immunoregulatory role of gut microbiota in the incidence, progression, and therapy of breast cancer - mini review

Sep 21, 2026

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Breast cancer occurrence and progression are shaped by genetics, environment, lifestyle, and hormones, while gut microbiota has emerged as a significant contributor to its development and management. This mini review summarizes how gut microbiota and its metabolites affect host physiology and pathology, including digestion, metabolism, immune response, and neural regulation. It highlights evidence linking altered microbiota abundance and metabolite profiles in patients with mechanisms driving BrCa progression and therapy, and outlines possible clinical applications.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages7

Reading Time18 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Breast cancer risk factors and gut microbiota links

Gut microbiota proﬁle in BrCa

TYPE Mini Review PUBLISHED 05 July 2024 DOI 10.3389/fcimb.2024.1411249 OPEN ACCESS EDITED BY Hadi Maleki-Kakelar, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Iran REVIEWED BY Abbas Jafari, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Iran Ebrahim Mazloomi, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Iran Morteza Eskandani, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Iran *CORRESPONDENCE Ruijie Huang [ruijmhuang@gmail.com](ruijmhuang@gmail.com) RECEIVED 03 April 2024 ACCEPTED 14 June 2024 PUBLISHED 05 July 2024 CITATION Xue K, Li J and Huang R (2024) The immunoregulatory role of gut microbiota in the incidence, progression, and therapy of breast cancer. Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol. 14:1411249 . doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2024.1411249 COPYRIGHT © 2024 Xue, Li and Huang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. The immunoregulatory role of gut microbiota in the incidence, progression, and therapy of breast cancer Kaiyang Xue, Jiawei Li and Ruijie Huang* State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Center for Stomatology, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Department of Pediatric Dentistry, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China Breast cancer (BrCa) is the most prevalent malignant tumor in women and one of the leading causes of female mortality. Its occurrence and progression are inﬂuenced by various factors, including genetics, environment, lifestyle, and hormones . In recent years, the gut microbiota has been identiﬁed as asigniﬁcant factor affecting BrCa. The gut microbiota refers to the collective population of various microorganisms in the human gastrointestinal tract. Gut microbiota is closely associated with human health and disease development, participating in crucial physiological functions such as digestion, metabolism, immune response, and neural regulation. It has been found to inﬂuence the occurrence and treatment of BrCa through a variety of mechanisms. This article aims to review the immunomodulatory role of the gut microbiota in the development and treatment of BrCa. KEYWORDS gut microbiota, breast cancer, therapy, immunoregulatory, regulatory 1 Introduction The mammalian microbiota encompasses trillions of microorganisms, comprising viruses, bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotes, residing internally and externally in the body. These microorganisms are distributed in various regions, including the skin, oral mucosa, vaginal mucosa, and conjunctiva, with the majority inhabiting the gastrointestinal system. The gut microbiota play apivotal role in food digestion, provision of essential nutrients to the host, safeguarding against pathogenic invasions, and regulating the growth and differentiation of gut epithelial cells. The interaction between the host and the metabolites generated by the microbiota itself plays a role in the host’s physiologic and pathologic changes (Sittipo et al., 2018) . The gut microbiome harbors approximately 1,000 times more genes than the human genome (with over 220 million genes in the gut microbiome compared to the 23,000 genes in the human genome) (Tierney et al., 2019) . Factors such as breastfeeding, solid food intake, and hormonal changes signiﬁcantly impact Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology 01 [frontiersin.org](frontiersin.org) the establishment and composition of gut microbiota (Rea et al., 2018) . The diverse bacterial genera in speciﬁc regions (such as the stomach, ileum, and colon) also inﬂuence the gut immune system (Terrisse et al., 2021) . Much evidence has approved tha

FAQs

What is the purpose of this mini review?

It reviews the immunomodulatory role of gut microbiota in the development and treatment of breast cancer, including mechanisms of disease progression and potential therapeutic applications.

How can gut microbiota influence breast cancer progression and therapy?

Gut microbiota and its metabolites can modulate immune responses and other physiological processes, and are associated with changes in microbiota abundance and metabolite profiles in breast cancer patients.

What kinds of evidence are discussed regarding gut microbiota profiles in breast cancer?

The review discusses differences in gut microbiota abundance and metabolite signatures between breast cancer patients and normal individuals, and how distinct microbial metabolic pathways may contribute to progression and treatment.

Sep 21, 2026

Upload by Noah