Host-Microbiome Interaction and Cancer: Potential Application in Precision Medicine

Abstract

It has been experimentally shown that host-microbial interaction plays a major role in shaping the wellness or disease of the human body. Microorganisms coexisting in human tissues provide a variety of benefits that contribute to proper functional activity in the host through the modulation of fundamental processes such as signal transduction, immunity and metabolism. The unbalance of this microbial profile, or dysbiosis, has been correlated with the genesis and evolution of complex diseases such as cancer. Although this latter disease has been thoroughly studied using different high-throughput (HT) technologies, its heterogeneous nature makes its understanding and proper treatment in patients a remaining challenge in clinical settings. Notably, given the outstanding role of host-microbiome interactions, the ecological interactions with microorganisms have become a new significant aspect in the systems that can contribute to the diagnosis and potential treatment of solid cancers. As a part of expanding precision medicine in the area of cancer research, efforts aimed at effective treatments for various kinds of cancer based on the knowledge of genetics, biology of the disease and host-microbiome interactions might improve the prediction of disease risk and implement potential microbiota-directed therapeutics. In this review, we present the state of the art of sequencing and metabolome technologies, computational methods and schemes in systems biology that have addressed recent breakthroughs of uncovering relationships or associations between microorganisms and cancer. Together, microbiome studies extend the horizon of new personalized treatments against cancer from the perspective of precision medicine through a synergistic strategy integrating clinical knowledge, HT data, bioinformatics, and systems biology.

A Unified Conceptual Framework for Metabolic Phenotyping in Diagnosis and Prognosis

“…bile acids, where certain substances can only be formed via the interactions of human and bacterial genomes. [13,15,16] Studies from multiple groups have shown the microbiome has a role in many diseases including gastrointestinal disorders, [17,18] cancers and efficacy of cancer treatments, [19] metabolic syndrome and obesity[20] and a range of neuropathologies including Alzheimer's disease and autism. [21,22] The microbe-host connections in all these conditions are mediated via complex metabolic and immunological signalling mechanisms that are still poorly understood.…”

Metabolomics technology and bioinformatics for precision medicine

“…Understanding the host-microbiome interactions is central to understanding a number of diseases that are a consequence of dysbiosis including cancer [20,27]. Microbiome sequencing has facilitated significant research in this area and has enabled development of microbiota based therapy [270]. Metagenome sequencing has made possible rapid detection of pathogens and understanding of the evolution of hypervirulent and multidrug-resistant strains.…”

Artificial Intelligence (AI)-Based Systems Biology Approaches in Multi-Omics Data Analysis of Cancer

“…The launch of the integrative Human Microbiome Project (iHMP) is a leveraging step toward that direction ( 77 ). As host–microbiome interactions include exchange of different small molecules, specifically metabolites and signaling molecules, metabolomics data appear as most informative ( 78 ). Databases are launched to share information on gut microbes paired with genome sequences and longitudinal multi-omics data ( 79 ).…”