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The microbiome as a determinant of racial and ethnic cancer disparities

Nature Reviews Cancer volume 24, pages 89–90 (2024)Cite this article

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Most microorganisms reside in the gastrointestinal tract with system-wide effects that can contribute to cancer development, including roles in regulating metabolism, adaptive and innate immunity, and the production of bioactive metabolites such as bile acids and short-chain fatty acids3. However, current microbiome–cancer-related studies have largely failed to encompass diverse populations.

Recent evidence suggests that the gut microbiome is affected by SDOH, resulting in microbiome differences across racial and ethnic groups (Fig. 1). Accumulating evidence supports these differences. For example, in an investigation of ethnic differences in faecal microbial composition among 2,084 individuals living in Amsterdam, The Netherlands (comprising 439 Dutch, 367 Ghanaian, 280 Moroccan, 197 Turkish, 443 African Surinamese and 358 South-Asian Surinamese participants), after adjustment for covariates, ethnicity was strongly associated with alpha diversity (the richness and evenness of microorganisms in one sample), beta diversity (the between-sample diversity), and the relative abundances of certain taxa (such as Bacteroides)4. These racial and ethnic microbiome differences may also be relevant to cancer. Previous work from our group has found unique, race-specific associations of tissue microorganisms with CRC; in the USA, African Americans had a greater abundance of bacteria that produced genotoxic hydrogen sulfide than non-Hispanic white individuals5. Although these associations seem to be driven by differences in dietary intake that may be related to inequitable nutrition access, it is also possible that individual differences in nutrient absorption (for example, due to genetic or metabolic factors) may result in measurable effects on gut microbial ecology.

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Fig. 1: Examples of multilevel exposures that may influence the gut microbiome and, in turn, contribute to cancer disparities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cancer Epidemiology Department, Division of Population Sciences, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, FL, USA

    Doratha Byrd

  2. Department of Nutrition Science, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA

    Patricia Wolf

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  1. Doratha Byrd
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  2. Patricia Wolf
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Correspondence to Doratha Byrd.

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D.B. serves on the board of directors at Scalar International.

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Byrd, D., Wolf, P. The microbiome as a determinant of racial and ethnic cancer disparities. Nat Rev Cancer 24, 89–90 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41568-023-00638-7

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