The intratumoral microbiota: a new horizon in cancer immunology

Abstract

Over the past decade, advancements in high-throughput sequencing technologies have led to a qualitative leap in our understanding of the role of the microbiota in human diseases, particularly in oncology. Despite the low biomass of the intratumoral microbiota, it remains a crucial component of the tumor immune microenvironment, displaying significant heterogeneity across different tumor tissues and individual patients. Although immunotherapy has emerged a major strategy for treating tumors, patient responses to these treatments vary widely. Increasing evidence suggests that interactions between the intratumoral microbiota and the immune system can modulate host tumor immune responses, thereby influencing the effectiveness of immunotherapy. Therefore, it is critical to gain a deep understanding of how the intratumoral microbiota shapes and regulates the tumor immune microenvironment. Here, we summarize the latest advancements on the role of the intratumoral microbiota in cancer immunity, exploring the potential mechanisms through which immune functions are influenced by intratumoral microbiota within and outside the gut barrier. We also discuss the impact of the intratumoral microbiota on the response to cancer immunotherapy and its clinical applications, highlighting future research directions and challenges in this field. We anticipate that the valuable insights into the interactions between cancer immunity and the intratumoral microbiota provided in this review will foster the development of microbiota-based tumor therapies.