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REVIEW article

Front. Microbiol.

Sec. Infectious Agents and Disease

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1677795

Comparative Insights into Fusobacterium nucleatum and Helicobacter pylori in Human Cancers

Provisionally accepted
  • National Center for Biotechnology, Astana, Kazakhstan

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Fusobacterium nucleatum and Helicobacter pylori are two microbial species increasingly recognized for their roles in gastrointestinal (GI) carcinogenesis, particularly in colorectal cancer (CRC) and gastric cancer (GC), respectively. While H. pylori has been long classified as a Group 1 carcinogen due to its well-characterized pathogenic mechanisms, F. nucleatum has more recently emerged as a key microbial contributor to CRC, with growing evidence linking it to tumor progression, immune evasion, and poor clinical outcomes. Despite occupying anatomically distinct niches within the GI tract, both bacteria converge on similar oncogenic pathways, including the activation of NF-κB signaling, β-catenin pathway dysregulation, and epithelial barrier disruption. In parallel, dietary factors – particularly the consumption of red and processed meats – contribute additional oncogenic pressure via carcinogenic compounds such as heme iron, N-nitroso compounds, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. These dietary components not only damage host tissue but may also potentiate bacterial virulence and promote microbial persistence. This review provides a comparative analysis of the oncogenic strategies employed by F. nucleatum and H. pylori, with an emphasis on their interactions with diet-derived carcinogens and implications for therapeutic interventions targeting the microbiota–diet–host axis in GI cancers.

Keywords: Fusobacterium nucleatum, Helicobacter pylori, colorectal cancer, gastric cancer, redmeat, Processed meat, Virulence Factors

Received: 01 Aug 2025; Accepted: 30 Sep 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Gusmaulemova, Kurentay, Bayanbek and Kulmambetova. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Gulmira Kulmambetova, kulmambetova@biocenter.kz

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