Colorectal cancer is one of the most common malignancies and is the second leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Generally, there are three categories of colorectal cancer development mechanism—genetic, epigenetic and aberrant immunological signaling pathways—all of which may be initiated by an imbalanced gut microbiota. Epigenetic modifications enable host cells to change gene expression without modifying the gene sequence. The microbiota can interact with the host genome dynamically through the interface presented by epigenetic modifications. In particular, bacterially derived short-chain fatty acids have been identified as one clear link in the interaction of the microbiota with host epigenetic pathways. This review discusses recent findings relating to the cross talk between the microbiota and epigenetic modifications in colorectal cancer.
结直肠癌是最常见的恶性肿瘤之一，也是全球癌症相关死亡的第二大主要原因。结直肠癌的发生机制通常可分为三类——遗传、表观遗传及异常免疫信号通路——这些机制均可能由肠道菌群失衡所触发。表观遗传修饰使宿主细胞能够在无需改变基因序列的情况下调控基因表达。微生物群可通过表观遗传修饰这一界面与宿主基因组发生动态相互作用；其中，细菌来源的短链脂肪酸已被明确认定为微生物群与宿主表观遗传通路相互作用的关键枢纽。本综述探讨了关于结直肠癌中微生物群与表观遗传修饰相互影响的最新研究发现。
Influence of the microbiota on epigenetics in colorectal cancer
肿瘤(癌症)患者之家