High fat diet, gut microbiome and gastrointestinal cancer

Theranostics. 2021 Apr 3;11(12):5889-5910. doi: 10.7150/thno.56157. eCollection 2021.

Abstract

Gastrointestinal cancer is currently one of the main causes of cancer death, with a large number of cases and a wide range of lesioned sites. A high fat diet, as a public health problem, has been shown to be correlated with various digestive system diseases and tumors, and can accelerate the occurrence of cancer due to inflammation and altered metabolism. The gut microbiome has been the focus of research in recent years, and associated with cell damage or tumor immune microenvironment changes via direct or extra-intestinal effects; this may facilitate the occurrence and development of gastrointestinal tumors. Based on research showing that both a high fat diet and gut microbes can promote the occurrence of gastrointestinal tumors, and that a high fat diet imbalances intestinal microbes, we propose that a high fat diet drives gastrointestinal tumors by changing the composition of intestinal microbes.

Keywords: gastrointestinal cancer; gut microbiome; high fat diet; inflammation; metabolic reprogramming.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Diet, High-Fat / adverse effects*
  • Gastrointestinal Microbiome / physiology*
  • Gastrointestinal Neoplasms / etiology*
  • Gastrointestinal Neoplasms / microbiology*
  • Humans
  • Inflammation / etiology
  • Inflammation / microbiology
  • Tumor Microenvironment / physiology