The Gut-Brain Axis, Paving the Way to Brain Cancer

The gut-brain axis formed by blood and lymphatic vessels paves the way for microbiota to impact the brain. Bacterial populations in the gut are a good candidate for a nongenetic factor contributing substantively to brain tumor development and to the success of therapy. Specifically, suppression of the immune system and induction of inflammation by microbiota sustain proliferative signaling, limit cell death, and induce angiogenesis as well as invasiveness. In addition, altered microbial metabolites and their levels could stimulate cell proliferation. We propose here a novel gear model connecting these complex interdisciplinary fields. Our model may impact mechanistic studies of brain cancer and better treatment outcomes through precision oncology.