癌性恶液质与肠道微生物群的相关研究进展

Research advances of the links between cancer cachexia and gut microbiota

癌性恶液质是一种多因素的慢性消耗性代谢综合征,以体重的非计划性下降、局部或系统性炎症、骨骼肌进行性萎缩等为特征,严重地影响患者的身心健康和生活质量,也是肿瘤患者主要的死亡原因之一。癌性恶液质的发病机制复杂,随着人们对癌性恶液质发病机制开始重视,近年来已有许多研究证明了肠道微生物群与癌性恶液质之间存在着潜在联系,骨骼肌-肠道轴、微生物群-肠道-脑轴可能参与其中。针对两者间的潜在联系所采用的益生菌和益生元治疗方法已经在动物模型上被证明是可行的,而通过粪菌移植改善肠道微生物群,也是具有潜力的治疗癌性恶液质的治疗方法。在本文中,我们就肠道微生物群与癌性恶液质的不同发病机制间的联系,以及针对肠道微生物群的不同治疗方法展开论述,表明肠道微生物群可能是治疗癌性恶液质的治疗靶点。最后,我们探讨了该领域目前存在的不足,以及发展前景,有望通过进一步的研究阐述肠道微生物群与癌性恶液质之间的具体关系,并提供更有效地治疗建议。

Cancer cachexia is a multifactorial chronic wasting metabolic syndrome characterized by unplanned weight loss, local or systemic inflammation and progressive muscle wasting, which has a strong impact on patients’ physical and mental health and the quality of life. And it is also one of the main causes of cancer deaths among cancer patients. The pathogenic mechanism of cancer cachexia is complicated. Now as people attach importance to the pathogenic mechanism of cancer cachexia, there has been lots of studies that have proved the potential links between cancer cachexia and gut microbiota. The muscle-gut axis and the microbiota-brain-gut axis may play an important role in the links. Probiotic and prebiotic therapies have been proved effective on animal models. And fecal microbiota transplantation is also a potential method to cure cancer cachexia. In this article, we foucs on the links between gut microbiota and the pathogenic mechanism of cancer cachexia. We also discuss the therapies about gut microbiota and these findings suggest that gut microbiota represents a therapeutic target in cancer cachexia. Finally, we explore the shortcomings and the prospects in this research field. With further research, we may know more about the specific relationship between cancer cachexia and gut microbiota and offer more effective treatment recommendations.