BioCentury
ARTICLE | Cover Story

Connecting the microbiome to obesity-associated cancers

August 1, 2013 7:00 AM UTC

Multiple epidemiological studies have shown associations between obesity and increased risk for various cancers,1,2 but the mechanisms underlying the interplay of the two conditions have been poorly understood. New research from Japan suggests obesity-induced changes in the gut microbiome could be one potential culprit,3 providing new directions to develop microbiome-targeted diagnostics and interventions.

A team led by Eiji Hara, chief of the Division of Cancer Biology at the Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research, has traced the association between obesity and increased cancer risk to gut microbiota communities that produce a DNA-damaging bile acid. The work also elucidates the role of cellular senescence in cancer, something Hara has been studying for the past decade...