Potential predictive role of gut microbiota to immunotherapy in HCC patients: a brief review

The recent evolution of immunotherapy has revolutionised the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and has led to new therapeutic standards. The advances in immunotherapy have been accompanied by the recognition of the role of the gut-liver axis in the progression of HCC but also of the clinic...

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Published inFrontiers in oncology Vol. 13; p. 1247614
Main Authors Muscolino, Paola, Granata, Barbara, Omero, Fausto, De Pasquale, Claudia, Campana, Stefania, Calabrò, Alessia, D’Anna, Federica, Drommi, Fabiana, Pezzino, Gaetana, Cavaliere, Riccardo, Ferlazzo, Guido, Silvestris, Nicola, Speranza, Desirèe
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Frontiers Media S.A 25.08.2023
Subjects
advanced
biomarkers
hepatocellular carcinoma
immunotherapy
microbiota
Oncology
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Summary:The recent evolution of immunotherapy has revolutionised the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and has led to new therapeutic standards. The advances in immunotherapy have been accompanied by the recognition of the role of the gut-liver axis in the progression of HCC but also of the clinical relevance of the gut microbiota, which influences host homeostasis but also cancer development and the response to treatment. Dysbiosis, by altering the tumour microenvironment, favours the activation of intracellular signalling pathways and promotes carcinogenesis. The gut microbiota, through their composition and immunomodulatory role, are thus strong predictors of the response to immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) treatment as well as an available target to improve ICI efficacy and reduce drug toxicities. In this review we examine the novel role of the gut microbiota as biomarkers in both the diagnosis of HCC and the clinical response to immunotherapy as well as its potential impact on clinical practice in the future.
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Edited by: Francesco Tovoli, University of Bologna, Italy
Reviewed by: Leonardo Stella, IRCCS, Italy; Eleonora Lai, University Hospital and University of Cagliari, Italy
These authors have contributed equally to this work and share first authorship
These authors have contributed equally to this work and share last authorship
ISSN:2234-943X
2234-943X
DOI:10.3389/fonc.2023.1247614