Research progress of gut microbiota in hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the sixth most common cancer and the fourth leading cause of cancer‐related death in the world. A number of challenges remain for the early detection and effective treatment of HCC. In recent years, microbiota have been proven to be associated with the development of HCC. Many studies have explored the pathogenesis, diagnostic marker, and therapeutic target potential of microbiota in hepatocellular carcinoma. Therefore, we aimed to introduce the research methods and achievements of gut microbiota in hepatocellular carcinoma and discuss the value of gut microbiota in the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma. METHODS: Keywords are used to search relevant articles which were mainly published from 2010 to 2021, and we further selected targeted articles and read the full text. RESULTS: Gut microbiota involved in promoting the formation and development of hepatocellular carcinoma, and differential gut microbiota and microbial metabolites have the potential to be the biomarkers of hepatocellular carcinoma. Purposefully regulated gut microbiota can improve the prognosis of patients, which is expected to be used in hepatocellular carcinoma. CONCLUSION: The study of gut microbiota in hepatocellular carcinoma is definitely worthy of study. In‐depth and elaborate research design is crucial for the study of the mechanism of gut microbiota involved in hepatocellular carcinoma, which can provide new directions and targets for the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma.