Microbiota-mediated modulation of radiosensitivity: mechanisms and therapeutic prospects of oral and gut microbiota, metabolites, and probiotics.

ABSTRACT: Radiotherapy is a cornerstone of comprehensive cancer treatment, yet its efficacy and toxicity exhibit considerable interindividual variation. Recent evidence highlights the microbiome-the collective genomes and metabolic products of symbiotic microorganisms in a specific environment-as a key bidirectional regulator of radiosensitivity. Radiotherapy can disrupt microbial community structure, while the microbiome and its metabolites profoundly influence tumor cell radiosensitivity and normal tissue radiotolerance by modulating DNA damage repair, immune responses, metabolic reprogramming, and tumor microenvironment (TME) remodeling. This review systematically examines the mechanisms and recent advances in understanding how oral and gut microbiota, their key metabolites (e.g., short-chain fat

SUBMITTER: Wu B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12728358 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature