Microbiota-driven metabolic–immune crosstalk in breast cancer

Abstract

Cancer continues to pose a significant risk to women’s health globally, as its progression and treatment resistance arise from an intricate interplay between metabolic reprogramming, immunological evasion, and the tumor microbiome. Augmented glycolysis has emerged as a pivotal element in cancer pathogenesis, altering the tumor microenvironment via the buildup of immune-regulated metabolites that directly influence the activation of the cGAS-STING pathway. This pathway is regarded as a significant modulator of cancer immunity, but new studies indicate that its persistent activation generally results in an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment instead of robust antitumor immunity. Developments in multi-omics technology have revealed the therapeutic importance of the tumor microbiome, and thus, we focus on recent advancements in tumor microbiota that modify glycolytic pathways to influence the cGAS-STING signaling threshold, thereby impacting cancer immunotherapy.