Work

Intratumoral microbiota in the growth of CRC and lung cancer: Comprehensive insights from etiology to therapy

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: The tumor microenvironment (TME) contains a diverse intratumoral microbiota (ITM) governing cancer onset, progression, and therapeutic response. This review compares ITM profiles of colorectal and lung cancer, two anatomically distinct malignancies linked via the gut-lung axis, and summarizes microbial detection strategies ranging from cultivation and sequencing to spatial and single-cell technologies. Oral pathobionts such as Fusobacterium nucleatum , Streptococcus , and Veillonella accumulate in both cancers, promoting tumorigenesis through chronic inflammation, immune evasion, genotoxic insults, metabolic reprogramming, and facilitating colorectal cancer lung metastasis via venous drainage and systemic dissemination. Microbial signatures in stool, saliva, blood, and tumor tissue offer non-invasive tools for detection, prognosis, and prediction of immunotherapy resistance, while antibiotics, fecal microbiota transplantation, and engineered live biotherapeutics offer strategies to remodel the TME. This synthesis positions the gut-lung axis as a systemic driver of metastasis and outlines a route toward precision microbiome-based diagnostics and therapeutics.

Source: iScience

DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2026.117254

Authors: Yicheng Wang, Jixiang Li, Xuxu Du, Wutang Li, Dong Wang, Yuyuan Li

Institutions: Dalian Medical University, Second Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University

Language: English

Topic: Gut microbiota and health

Subfield: Molecular Biology

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,240