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Diet, Gut Microbiota, and Colorectal Cancer Prevention: a Review of Potential Mechanisms and Promising Targets for Future Research

  • Nutrition and Nutritional Interventions in Colorectal Cancer (K Wu, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current Colorectal Cancer Reports

Abstract

Diet plays an important role in the development of colorectal cancer. Emerging data have implicated the gut microbiota in colorectal cancer. Diet is a major determinant for the gut microbial structure and function. Therefore, it has been hypothesized that alterations in gut microbes and their metabolites may contribute to the influence of diet on the development of colorectal cancer. We review several major dietary factors that have been linked to gut microbiota and colorectal cancer, including major dietary patterns, fiber, red meat and sulfur, and obesity. Most of the epidemiologic evidence derives from cross-sectional or short-term, highly controlled feeding studies that are limited in size. Therefore, high-quality large-scale prospective studies with dietary data collected over the life course and comprehensive gut microbial composition and function assessed well prior to neoplastic occurrence are critically needed to identify microbiome-based interventions that may complement or optimize current diet-based strategies for colorectal cancer prevention and management.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinical and Translational Epidemiology Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Bartlett Ext. 9, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA, 02114, USA

    Mingyang Song & Andrew T. Chan

  2. Division of Gastroenterology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Mingyang Song & Andrew T. Chan

  3. Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA

    Mingyang Song

  4. Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Andrew T. Chan

  5. Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Andrew T. Chan

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Nutrition and Nutritional Interventions in Colorectal Cancer

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Song, M., Chan, A.T. Diet, Gut Microbiota, and Colorectal Cancer Prevention: a Review of Potential Mechanisms and Promising Targets for Future Research. Curr Colorectal Cancer Rep 13, 429–439 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11888-017-0389-y

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