REVIEW article
Front. Nutr.
Sec. Nutrition and Microbes
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1602603
This article is part of the Research TopicExploring the Obesity-Cancer Nexus: Dietary Influences and Biological MechanismsView all 6 articles
Obesity and cancer: unravelling the microbiome's hidden role
Provisionally accepted
- 1Weill Cornell Medicine- Qatar, Ar-Rayyan, Qatar
- 2London South Bank University, London, England, United Kingdom
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Obesity has been implicated as the driving force of many diseases including cancer through multiple biological mechanisms, including gut microbial imbalances, compromised intestinal barrier integrity, persistent low-grade inflammation, and alterations in energy uptake. As lifestyle factors such as diet, physical activity, and sleep are known to influence disease susceptibility, understanding the role of the gut microbiome in these interactions is critical. A deeper understanding of the intricate connections between gut microbiota, obesity, and various cancers could be used to better inform effective strategies for disease prevention and treatment. Investigating the microbiome's influence on tumor progression and systemic metabolic health may be the way forward for novel diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. It is essential to investigate how lifestyle factors are linked to both obesity and cancer, and what role the microbiome is playing. This review synthesizes current research on the mechanistic role of the gut microbiome in obesity and cancer, highlighting its potential role in early detection, prognosis, and its use as a targeted intervention to restore gut eubiosis.
Keywords: bidirectional, Cancer, Gut Microbiota, lifestyle, Obesity, physical activity
Received: 30 Mar 2025; Accepted: 26 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Gaskell, MacDonald, Aleem and Bendriss. 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: Christine Gaskell, Weill Cornell Medicine- Qatar, Ar-Rayyan, Qatar
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