Division of Gastroenterology, Fondazione IRCCS Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza, Hospital, Viale dei Cappuccini, 1, 71013 San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy.
Dietetic and Clinical Nutrition Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza, Viale dei Cappuccini, 1, 71013 San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy.
Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Jan 17;24(3):1849. doi: 10.3390/ijms24031849.
Cancer cachexia is a complex multifactorial syndrome whose hallmarks are weight loss due to the wasting of muscle tissue with or without the loss of adipose tissue, anorexia, systemic inflammation, and multi-organ metabolic alterations, which negatively impact patients' response to anticancer treatments, quality of life, and overall survival. Despite its clinical relevance, cancer cachexia often remains an underestimated complication due to the lack of rigorous diagnostic and therapeutic pathways. A number of studies have shown alterations in gut microbiota diversity and composition in association with cancer cachexia markers and symptoms, thus supporting a central role for dysbiosis in the pathogenesis of this syndrome. Different tools of microbiota manipulation, including probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, and fecal microbiota transplantation, have been investigated, demonstrating encouraging improvements in cachexia outcomes. Albeit pioneering, these studies pave the way for future research with the aim of exploring the role of gut microbiota in cancer cachexia more deeply and setting up effective microbiota-targeting interventions to be translated into clinical practice.
癌症恶病质是一种复杂的多因素综合征，其特征是由于肌肉组织的消耗而导致体重下降，伴有或不伴有脂肪组织的丢失，厌食，全身炎症和多器官代谢改变，这会对患者对抗癌治疗的反应，生活质量和整体生存产生负面影响。尽管具有临床相关性，但由于缺乏严格的诊断和治疗途径，癌症恶病质常常仍然被低估。许多研究表明，肠道微生物组的多样性和组成发生改变与癌症恶病质标志物和症状有关，从而支持了肠道菌群失调在该综合征发病机制中的核心作用。已经研究了多种微生物组操作工具，包括益生菌，益生元，合生菌和粪便微生物移植，这些方法均显示出对恶病质结局的可喜改善。尽管这些研究具有开创性，但它们为未来的研究铺平了道路，旨在更深入地研究肠道微生物组在癌症恶病质中的作用，并建立有效的针对微生物组的干预措施，以转化为临床实践。
