Interplay of gut microbiome, fatty acids, and the endocannabinoid system in regulating development, progression, immunomodulation, and chemoresistance of cancer

The roles of gut microorganisms in cancer are diverse. Studies on metagenomics and bioinformatics have documented diverse microbial etiology in different tumors. Evidence supports that a commensal microbiome could provide a promising strategy to treat and prevent cancer through interference in several biologic processes, such as host cell survival and death, host immune function, inflammation, oncogenic signaling, and several hormone receptor signaling and detoxification pathways. The cumulative evidence recommends that metabolites of commensal gut microorganisms (e.g., short-chain fatty acids, omega-3 and -6 fatty acids) play an important role in cancer prevention, with a robust antiproliferative effect of omega-3 fatty acids. Intriguingly, the endocannabinoid system (omega-3 and -6 fatty acid-derived neurotransmitter of the body) shows diverse effects on cancer prevention and oncogenesis depending on the context of the tumor microenvironment. Thus, an interplay of gut microorganisms with their fatty acid metabolites and the endocannabinoid system play an important role in the development, progression, immunomodulation, and chemoresistance of cancer. In this review, we highlight aspects of the current knowledge of and interactions between the microbiome with fatty acids and the host endocannabinoid system. We also document their effect on host immunomodulation and chemoresistance, and discuss how these insights might translate into future development of microbiome-targeted therapeutic interventions.