Table 2 Gut microbiota involvement in cancer therapy

Melanoma

Ruminococcaceae, Bifidobacteriaceae

Faecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT)

Increased immune cell infiltration, improved ICB therapy resistance, 36% overall clinical response rate, no additional severe toxicities.

[64, 65]

Colorectal Cancer (CRC)

Fusobacterium nucleatum, Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, Ruminococcaceae, Akkermansia muciniphila

FMT, Specific Bacteria Depletion (e.g., antibiotics), Probiotics and Microbial Consortia (e.g., high-fibre diet and prebiotics)

FMT alters gut microbiota, probiotics improve ICB efficacy, high-fibre diet enhances antitumour immunity, antibiotics and CRISPR-Cas9 target specific oncogenic bacteria.

[31, 33, 69,70,71,72, 75, 76]

Gastric Cancer (GC)

Helicobacter pylori, Propionibacterium acnes

FMT, Specific Bacteria Depletion (e.g., antibiotics), Probiotics and Microbial Consortia (e.g., high-fibre diet and prebiotics)

FMT improves immune cell infiltration and treatment-related metabolite abundance, probiotics and prebiotics enhance immune response, antibiotics target H. pylori to reduce tumour progression.

[48, 49]

Pancreatic Cancer (PDAC)

Saccharopolyspora, Pseudoxanthomonas, Streptomyces, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus reuteri

FMT, Specific Bacteria Depletion (e.g., antibiotics), Probiotics and Microbial Consortia (e.g., high-fibre diet and prebiotics)

FMT promotes CD8⁺T cell activation, probiotics and prebiotics enhance antitumour immunity, antibiotics modulate microbiota to enhance treatment efficacy.

[34, 52]

Liver Cancer (HCC)

Blautia producta, Clostridium scindens, Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, Roseburia intestinalis

FMT, Specific Bacteria Depletion (e.g., antibiotics), Probiotics and Microbial Consortia (e.g., high-fibre diet and prebiotics)

FMT improves graft-versus-host disease, probiotics and prebiotics modulate Th17 cell levels, slow tumour progression, antibiotics promote NK cell migration and IFN-γ production to enhance antitumour response.

[66, 67, 69, 70, 80, 99]

Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC)

Clostridium butyricum

Probiotics and Microbial Consortia (e.g., high-fibre diet and prebiotics)

CBM588 combined with ICB increases response rate and progression-free survival (PFS), probiotics improve clinical outcomes.

[79]

Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

VSL#3 (Probiotic combination)

Probiotics and Microbial Consortia

Probiotics alleviate disease severity, improve conditions related to HCC development.

[82, 83]