Bacteria, food, and cancer

Gut microbes are essential components of the human organism—helping us metabolize food into energy, produce micronutrients, and shape our immune systems. Having a particular pattern of gut microbes is also increasingly being linked to medical conditions including obesity, inflammatory bowel disease, and diabetes. Recent studies now indicate that our resident intestinal bacteria may also play a critical role in determining one's risk of developing cancer, ranging from protection against cancer to promoting its initiation and progression. Gut bacteria are greatly influenced by diet and in this review we explore evidence that they may be the missing piece that explains how dietary intake influences cancer risk, and discuss possible prevention and treatment strategies.