The role of intestinal microbiota in colorectal cancer
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52556/2587-3873.2025.2(104).13Keywords:
cancer, AGEs, microbiota, dysbiosis, SCFAs, vitamin KAbstract
Digestive tract cancer is a major public health problem in the Republic of Moldova, with increasing incidence and mortality rates in recent decades. Colorectal cancer is among the most common types of cancer, ranking third in cancer-related mortality statistics. An imbalance in the composition of the intestinal microbiota (dysbiosis) has been associated with the development of intestinal diseases, including colorectal cancer. A literature review was conducted covering the period from 2010 to 2025, using 35 articles sourced from ScienceDirect, PubMed Central, BioMed Central, Medscape, and GoogleScholar. The contemporary human diet contains many foods subjected to intense thermal processing such as frying, baking, and smoking, with a high content of advanced glycation end products (AGEs). These compounds lead to intestinal dysbiosis by reducing saccharolytic bacteria such as Ruminococcaceae and Alloprevotella, which produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), and by increasing pathogenic bacteria like Desulfovibrio and Bacteroides. Firstly, dysbiosis, generated by AGEs, reduces SCFAs production, especially of butyrate, which has antiinflammatory, antitumor, and prokinetic effects. Secondly, pathogenic bacteria induce the formation of carcinogenic substances such as bacterial toxins and metabolic by-products of carbohydrates, proteins, cholesterol, and bile acids. Thirdly, pathogenic bacteria reduce the synthesis, metabolism, and assimilation of vitamins such as K2 (menaquinone), B7 (biotin), B12 (cobalamin), B9 (folic acid), B3 (niacin), B5 (pantothenic acid), B6 (pyridoxine), B2 (riboflavin), and B1 (thiamine). In conclusion, a diet low in AGEs, along with synbiotics, probiotics, prebiotics, and fecal microbiota transplantation, are promising methods for colorectal cancer prevention.
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