Microbial Regulation of Vitamin D Linked to Colorectal Cancer: A Sex Bias

Cancer Res. 2023 Nov 15;83(22):3670-3672. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-23-3128.

Abstract

In a recent issue of Cancer Cell, Li and colleagues revealed that Carnobacterium maltaromaticum (C. maltaromaticum) was significantly depleted in the stool samples of patients with colorectal cancer in a female-specific manner. C. maltaromaticum actively participated in the generation of vitamin D intermediary metabolites, which together with Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and Lachnispiraceae bacterium produce an active metabolite of vitamin D that protects against colorectal cancer development. C. maltaromaticum supplementation induced in a female-specific manner an increase in vitamin D levels that would activate its receptor in the colonic epithelium, protecting against the development of colorectal cancer.

Publication types

  • Comment

MeSH terms

  • Colorectal Neoplasms*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Sexism
  • Vitamin D*

Substances

  • Vitamin D