Novel insights at the crossroads of antibiotic use and cancer risk
Authors:Nermina Malanovic1,2,3 and Djenana Vejzovic4
1 Institute of Molecular Biosciences, University of Graz, NAWI Graz, Graz, Austria.
2 Field of Excellence BioHealth, University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria.
3 BioTechMed Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria.
4 Division of Biomedical Research, Core Facility Alternative Biomodels and Preclinical Imaging, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
Keywords:
antibitiotics, cancer, immune cells, bacterial signature, antibacterial activity, anticancer activity, microbiome, drug resistance.
Corresponding Author(s):
Conflict of interest statement:
Authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.
Please cite this article as:
Nermina Malanovic and Djenana Vejzovic (2023). Novel insights at the crossroads of antibiotic use and cancer risk. Cell Stress 7(6): 46-49. doi: 10.15698/cst2023.06.280
© 2023 Malanovic and Vejzovic. This is an open-access article released under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, which allows the unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are acknowledged.
Abstract:
The continuous use of antibiotics is associated with the spread of antimicrobial resistances and the not yet clear link to cancer development. Many conventional antibiotics have already shown different effects on a variety of cancer types raising questions for their rational use in cancer. However, discrepancy in the observed trend for some antibiotics reducing cancer development and being associated with higher risk of cancer underscores the lack of understanding the complex link between antibiotics and cancer. Here, we briefly summarize the possible antibiotic-mediated effects on cancer and conclude that those effects can be direct via i) specific targeting of tumor/cancer, ii) antimicrobial activity and iii) immunomodulatory activity whereby iv) indirectly caused effects primarily affect immune equilibrium between bacteria, cancer and immune cells. Furthermore, we also conclude that there is a great need for bulk profiling, comprehensive screening programs in all countries and in-depth studies to understand the risks and benefits of antibiotic use.