Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common primary liver cancer, is one of the dreaded complications of chronic liver disease. Recent experimental and clinical studies have revealed the pivotal role played by the alteration of gut-liver axis in the onset of chronic liver diseases, including HCC. Altered gut microbiota and endotoxemia are increasingly recognized as critical components in promoting the procession of chronic liver diseases and the development of HCC. Probiotics have been suggested as a new, safe and cost-effective approach to prevent or treat HCC. There are many mechanisms by which probiotics exerts their anti-cancer effects, including their ability to bind carcinogens, modulation of gut microbiota, improvement of intestinal barrier function, and immunomodulation. This review summarizes the literature findings of the changes in gut microbiota associated with HCC, and the possible therapeutic implications of probiotics for HCC will be discussed.
Keywords
Endotoxemia, Gut-liver axis, Gut microbiota, …show more content…
A disruption to this micro-ecology, technically coined as intestinal dysbiosis (disequilibrium in microbiota), impairs intestinal homeostasis and results in excessive growth of some harmful bacteria known to induce a variety of diseases, including liver pathology. Indeed, the composition of the gut microbiota is altered in many liver diseases, thus restructuring the gut microbiota is an emerging target for therapy. Probiotics, as a functional food ingredient, may beneficially influence the intestinal microbiota and modulate several pathogenic alterations in chronic liver diseases (10), and emerging evidence has indicated that probiotics may also be used as a therapeutic approach for HCC (11). In this review, the association of gut microbiota with HCC, and the possible therapeutic implications of probiotics for HCC will be
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common primary liver cancer, is one of the dreaded complications of chronic liver disease. Recent experimental and clinical studies have revealed the pivotal role played by the alteration of gut-liver axis in the onset of chronic liver diseases, including HCC. Altered gut microbiota and endotoxemia are increasingly recognized as critical components in promoting the procession of chronic liver diseases and the development of HCC. Probiotics have been suggested as a new, safe and cost-effective approach to prevent or treat HCC. There are many mechanisms by which probiotics exerts their anti-cancer effects, including their ability to bind carcinogens, modulation of gut microbiota, improvement of intestinal barrier function, and immunomodulation. This review summarizes the literature findings of the changes in gut microbiota associated with HCC, and the possible therapeutic implications of probiotics for HCC will be discussed.
Keywords
Endotoxemia, Gut-liver axis, Gut microbiota, …show more content…
A disruption to this micro-ecology, technically coined as intestinal dysbiosis (disequilibrium in microbiota), impairs intestinal homeostasis and results in excessive growth of some harmful bacteria known to induce a variety of diseases, including liver pathology. Indeed, the composition of the gut microbiota is altered in many liver diseases, thus restructuring the gut microbiota is an emerging target for therapy. Probiotics, as a functional food ingredient, may beneficially influence the intestinal microbiota and modulate several pathogenic alterations in chronic liver diseases (10), and emerging evidence has indicated that probiotics may also be used as a therapeutic approach for HCC (11). In this review, the association of gut microbiota with HCC, and the possible therapeutic implications of probiotics for HCC will be