Department of Internal Medicine, Hematology/Oncology Division, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Riad El Solh, Beirut 1107 2020, Lebanon.
Department of Anatomy, Cell Biology and Physiology, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Riad El Solh, Beirut 1107 2020, Lebanon.
Int J Mol Sci. 2021 Jul 21;22(15):7800. doi: 10.3390/ijms22157800.
Disruptions in the human gut microbiome have been associated with a cycle of hepatocyte injury and regeneration characteristic of chronic liver disease. Evidence suggests that the gut microbiota can promote the development of hepatocellular carcinoma through the persistence of this inflammation by inducing genetic and epigenetic changes leading to cancer. As the gut microbiome is known for its effect on host metabolism and immune response, it comes as no surprise that the gut microbiome may have a role in the response to therapeutic strategies such as immunotherapy and chemotherapy for liver cancer. Gut microbiota may influence the efficacy of immunotherapy by regulating the responses to immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. Here, we review the mechanisms by which gut microbiota influences hepatic carcinogenesis, the immune checkpoint inhibitors currently being used to treat hepatocellular carcinoma, as well as summarize the current findings to support the potential critical role of gut microbiome in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) immunotherapy.
人类肠道微生物组的紊乱与慢性肝病特征性的肝细胞损伤和再生循环有关。有证据表明，肠道微生物组可以通过诱导导致癌症的遗传和表观遗传变化，通过持续的这种炎症促进肝细胞癌的发展。由于肠道微生物组对宿主代谢和免疫反应有影响，因此肠道微生物组可能在肝癌的治疗策略（如免疫疗法和化疗）的反应中发挥作用，这并不奇怪。肠道微生物组可能通过调节肝细胞癌患者对免疫检查点抑制剂的反应来影响免疫疗法的疗效。在这里，我们综述了肠道微生物组影响肝发生癌变的机制、目前用于治疗肝细胞癌的免疫检查点抑制剂，以及总结了目前的研究结果，以支持肠道微生物组在肝细胞癌（HCC）免疫治疗中的潜在关键作用。
