Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

The microbiome of the prostate

  • short review
  • Published:
memo - Magazine of European Medical Oncology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Summary

The intestinal microbiome plays a significant role in modulation of the immune system and carcinogenesis. An increasing number of studies are now investigating the microbiome and the effect of dysbiosis on urological diseases.

Studies investigating the bacterial composition of urine and prostate tissue as well as fecal bacteria clearly demonstrated an association between the alteration in bacterial composition and prostate cancer. Furthermore, patients with and without prostate cancer seem to have a distinct cluster of bacteria that alter metabolic pathways including androgen and testosterone synthesis.

Apart from the interaction of the immune system and microbial composition, there is compelling evidence that the microbiome is involved in modulation of treatment efficacy. Therefore, a dysbiosis of the intestinal microbiome compromises the efficacy of PD-1 immunotherapy. Furthermore, androgen deprivation therapies (ADT), as well as androgen receptor targeting agents (ARTA) including bicalutamide, enzalutamide, and abiraterone acetate, seem to have an influence on the intestinal microbiome.

Microbiome research is a virgin soil in science and will provide further insights into a new area that affects the development of cancer. Based on this information, new therapeutic strategies and prevention options could be found in the future.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Golombos DM, Ayangbesan A, O’Malley P, Lewicki P, Barlow L, Barbieri CE, et al. The role of gut microbiome in the pathogenesis of prostate cancer: a prospective, pilot study. Urology. 2018;111:122–8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Nguyen DP, Li J, Tewari AK. Inflammation and prostate cancer: the role of interleukin 6 (IL-6). BJU Int. 2014;113(6):986–92.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Ruiz L, Delgado S, Ruas-Madiedo P, Sánchez B, Margolles A. Bifidobacteria and their molecular communication with the immune system. Front Microbiol. 2017;8:2345.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  4. Bull MJ, Plummer NT. Part 1: the human gut Microbiome in health and disease. Integr Med (Encinitas). 2014;13(6):17–22.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Shrestha E, White JR, Yu S‑H, Kulac I, Ertunc O, De Marzo AM, et al. Profiling the urinary microbiome in men with positive versus negative biopsies for prostate cancer. J Urol. 2018;199(1):161–71.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Cavarretta I, Ferrarese R, Cazzaniga W, Saita D, Lucianò R, Ceresola ER, et al. The microbiome of the prostate tumor microenvironment. Eur Urol. 2017;72(4):625–31.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Bhatt AP, Redinbo MR, Bultman SJ. The role of the microbiome in cancer development and therapy. CA Cancer J Clin. 2017;67(4):326–44.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  8. Wu X, Wu Y, He L, Wu L, Wang X, Liu Z. Effects of the intestinal microbial metabolite butyrate on the development of colorectal cancer. J Cancer. 2018;9(14):2510–7.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  9. Liss MA, White JR, Goros M, Gelfond J, Leach R, Johnson-Pais T, et al. Metabolic biosynthesis pathways identified from fecal Microbiome associated with prostate cancer. Eur Urol. 2018;74(5):575. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eururo.2018.06.033.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Markle JGM, Frank DN, Mortin-Toth S, Robertson CE, Feazel LM, Rolle-Kampczyk U, et al. Sex differences in the gut microbiome drive hormone-dependent regulation of autoimmunity. Science. 2013;339(6123):1084–8.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Neuman H, Debelius JW, Knight R, Koren O. Microbial endocrinology: the interplay between the microbiota and the endocrine system. FEMS Microbiol Rev. 2015;39(4):509–21.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Ridlon JM, Ikegawa S, Alves JMP, Zhou B, Kobayashi A, Iida T, et al. Clostridium scindens: a human gut microbe with a high potential to convert glucocorticoids into androgens. J Lipid Res. 2013;54(9):2437–49.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  13. Routy B, Le Chatelier E, Derosa L, Duong CPM, Alou MT, Daillère R, et al. Gut microbiome influences efficacy of PD-1-based immunotherapy against epithelial tumors. Science. 2018;359(6371):91–7.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Sfanos KS, Markowski MC, Peiffer LB, Ernst SE, White JR, Pienta KJ, et al. Compositional differences in gastrointestinal microbiota in prostate cancer patients treated with androgen axis-targeted therapies. Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis. 2018; https://doi.org/10.1038/s41391-018-0061-x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Urology and Andrology, Kepleruniversitätsklinikum Linz, Med Campus III, Krankenhausstraße 9, 4020, Linz, Austria

    Christa Strasser MD, Sebastian Graf, Volkmar Tauber & Steffen Krause

Authors
  1. Christa Strasser MD
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Sebastian Graf
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Volkmar Tauber
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Steffen Krause
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christa Strasser MD.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

C. Strasser, S. Graf, V. Tauber, and S. Krause declare that they have no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Strasser, C., Graf, S., Tauber, V. et al. The microbiome of the prostate. memo 11, 294–296 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12254-018-0451-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12254-018-0451-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation