Pharmacomicrobiomics in Anticancer Therapies: Why the Gut Microbiota Should Be Pointed Out

Abstract

Anticancer treatments have shown a variable therapeutic outcome that may be partly attributable to the activity of the gut microbiota on the pathology and/or therapies. In recent years, microbiota–drug interactions have been extensively investigated, but most of the underlying molecular mechanisms still remain unclear. In this review, we discuss the relationship between the gut microbiota and some of the most commonly used drugs in oncological diseases. Different strategies for manipulating the gut microbiota layout (i.e., prebiotics, probiotics, antibiotics, and fecal microbiota transplantation) are then explored in order to optimize clinical outcomes in cancer patients. Anticancer technologies that exploit tumor-associated bacteria to target tumors and biotransform drugs are also briefly discussed. In the field of pharmacomicrobiomics, multi-omics strategies coupled with machine and deep learning are urgently needed to bring to light the interaction among gut microbiota, drugs, and host for the development of truly personalized precision therapies.