Ecosystemic Approach to Understanding Gut Microbiome-Mediated Prevention of Colorectal Cancer

Abstract

Humans and their associated microorganisms coexist in complex symbiotic relationships. Continuously advancing research is demonstrating the crucial role of host-associated microbiota in the pathophysiology and etiology of disease and in mediating the prevention thereof. As an exemplar, the gut microbiota, especially colonic bacteria, have been extensively studied in colorectal cancer (CRC), and the growing body of evidence establishes new oncomicrobes and their oncometabolites associated with the initiation and promotion of carcinogenesis. Herein, we discuss the importance of approaching the gut microbiome as an ecosystem rather than an assortment of individual factors, especially in the context of cancer prevention. Furthermore, we argue that a dietary pattern effectively drives multiple nodes of the gut microbial ecosystem toward disease- or health-promoting qualities. In the modern circumstances of excessive consumption of ultraprocessed and animal-based foods and concomitant escalation of chronic disease burden worldwide, we focus on whole food-derived dietary fiber as a key to establishing a health-promoting eubiosis in the gut.