The Microbiome and Radiation Induced-Bowel Injury: Evidence for Potential Mechanistic Role in Disease Pathogenesis
1
UCL Eastman Dental Institute, University College London (UCL), Rayne Institute, 5 University Street, London WC1E 6JF, UK
2
Department of Gastroenterology, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, 250 Euston Road, London NW1 2PG, UK
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Nutrients 2018, 10(10), 1405; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10101405
Received: 20 August 2018 / Revised: 18 September 2018 / Accepted: 25 September 2018 / Published: 2 October 2018
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gut Microbiome and Human Health)
Radiotherapy has played a major role in both the curative and palliative treatment of cancer patients for decades. However, its toxic effect to the surrounding normal healthy tissue remains a major drawback. In cases of intra-abdominal and/or pelvic malignancy, healthy bowel is inevitably included in the radiation field, causing undesirable consequences that subsequently manifest as radiation-induced bowel injury, which is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The pathophysiology of radiation-induced bowel injury is poorly understood, although we now know that it derives from a complex interplay of epithelial injury and alterations in the enteric immune, nervous, and vascular systems in genetically predisposed individuals. Furthermore, evidence supporting a pivotal role for the gut microbiota in the development of radiation-induced bowel injury has been growing. In this review, we aim to appraise our current understanding of radiation-induced bowel injury and the role of the microbiome in its pathogenesis as well as prevention and treatment. Greater understanding of the relationship between the disease mechanism of radiation-induced bowel injury and gut microbiome might shed light on potential future prevention and treatment strategies through the modification of a patient’s gut microbiome.
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Keywords:
radiation-induced bowel injury; radiation enteritis; radiation enteropathy; pelvic radiation disease; radiotherapy; cancer management complications; microbiota; probiotics
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MDPI and ACS Style
Kumagai, T.; Rahman, F.; Smith, A.M. The Microbiome and Radiation Induced-Bowel Injury: Evidence for Potential Mechanistic Role in Disease Pathogenesis. Nutrients 2018, 10, 1405. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10101405
AMA Style
Kumagai T, Rahman F, Smith AM. The Microbiome and Radiation Induced-Bowel Injury: Evidence for Potential Mechanistic Role in Disease Pathogenesis. Nutrients. 2018; 10(10):1405. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10101405
Chicago/Turabian StyleKumagai, Tomoko; Rahman, Farooq; Smith, Andrew M. 2018. "The Microbiome and Radiation Induced-Bowel Injury: Evidence for Potential Mechanistic Role in Disease Pathogenesis" Nutrients 10, no. 10: 1405. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10101405
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