AUTHOR=Wang Shuang , Liu Yang , Li Jun , Zhao Lei , Yan Wei , Lin Baiqiang , Guo Xiao , Wei Yunwei 

TITLE=Fusobacterium nucleatum Acts as a Pro-carcinogenic Bacterium in Colorectal Cancer: From Association to Causality

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cell-and-developmental-biology/articles/10.3389/fcell.2021.710165

DOI=10.3389/fcell.2021.710165

ISSN=2296-634X

ABSTRACT=<p>Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a common cancer worldwide with complex etiology. <italic>Fusobacterium nucleatum</italic> (<italic>F. nucleatum</italic>), an oral symbiotic bacterium, has been linked with CRC in the past decade. A series of gut microbiota studies show that CRC patients carry a high abundance of <italic>F. nucleatum</italic> in the tumor tissue and fecal, and etiological studies have clarified the role of <italic>F. nucleatum</italic> as a pro-carcinogenic bacterium in various stages of CRC. In this review, we summarize the biological characteristics of <italic>F. nucleatum</italic> and the epidemiological associations between <italic>F. nucleatum</italic> and CRC, and then highlight the mechanisms by which <italic>F. nucleatum</italic> participates in CRC progression, metastasis, and chemoresistance by affecting cancer cells or regulating the tumor microenvironment (TME). We also discuss the research gap in this field and give our perspective for future studies. These findings will pave the way for manipulating gut <italic>F. nucleatum</italic> to deal with CRC in the future.</p>