Alexa Little, Mark Tangney, Michael M Tunney, Niamh E Buckley
{"title":"<i>Fusobacterium nucleatum</i>: a novel immune modulator in breast cancer?","authors":"Alexa Little, Mark Tangney, Michael M Tunney, Niamh E Buckley","doi":"10.1017/erm.2023.9","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Breast cancer was the most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide in 2020. Greater understanding of the factors which promote tumour progression, metastatic development and therapeutic resistance is needed. In recent years, a distinct microbiome has been detected in the breast, a site previously thought to be sterile. Here, we review the clinical and molecular relevance of the oral anaerobic bacterium <i>Fusobacterium nucleatum</i> in breast cancer. <i>F. nucleatum</i> is enriched in breast tumour tissue compared with matched healthy tissue and has been shown to promote mammary tumour growth and metastatic progression in mouse models. Current literature suggests that <i>F. nucleatum</i> modulates immune escape and inflammation within the tissue microenvironment, two well-defined hallmarks of cancer. Furthermore, the microbiome, and <i>F. nucleatum</i> specifically, has been shown to affect patient response to therapy including immune checkpoint inhibitors. These findings highlight areas of future research needed to better understand the influence of <i>F. nucleatum</i> in the development and treatment of breast cancer.</p>","PeriodicalId":50462,"journal":{"name":"Expert Reviews in Molecular Medicine","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.5000,"publicationDate":"2023-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10407221/pdf/","citationCount":"3","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Expert Reviews in Molecular Medicine","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1017/erm.2023.9","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 3
Abstract
Breast cancer was the most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide in 2020. Greater understanding of the factors which promote tumour progression, metastatic development and therapeutic resistance is needed. In recent years, a distinct microbiome has been detected in the breast, a site previously thought to be sterile. Here, we review the clinical and molecular relevance of the oral anaerobic bacterium Fusobacterium nucleatum in breast cancer. F. nucleatum is enriched in breast tumour tissue compared with matched healthy tissue and has been shown to promote mammary tumour growth and metastatic progression in mouse models. Current literature suggests that F. nucleatum modulates immune escape and inflammation within the tissue microenvironment, two well-defined hallmarks of cancer. Furthermore, the microbiome, and F. nucleatum specifically, has been shown to affect patient response to therapy including immune checkpoint inhibitors. These findings highlight areas of future research needed to better understand the influence of F. nucleatum in the development and treatment of breast cancer.
期刊介绍:
Expert Reviews in Molecular Medicine is an innovative online journal featuring authoritative and timely Reviews covering gene therapy, immunotherapeutics, drug design, vaccines, genetic testing, pathogenesis, microbiology, genomics, molecular epidemiology and diagnostic techniques. We especially welcome reviews on translational aspects of molecular medicine, particularly those related to the application of new understanding of the molecular basis of disease to experimental medicine and clinical practice.