Endocrine Disruptors in Food, Estrobolome and Breast Cancer

Abstract

The microbiota is now recognized as one of the major players in human health and disease, in-cluding cancer. As regards breast cancer (BC), a clear link between microbiota and oncogenesis is still to be confirmed. Yet, part of the bacterial gene mass inside the gut, constituting the so called “estrobolome”, influences the sexual hormonal balance and, since the increased exposure to estrogens is associated with an increased risk, it may impact on the onset, progression, and treatment of hormonal dependent cancers, which account for more than 70% of all BCs. 
 The hormonal dependent BCs are also affected by environmental and dietary endocrine disruptors and phytoestrogens which interact with microbiota in a bidirectional way: on one side disruptors can alter the composition and functions of the estrobolome, on the other the gut microbiota influences the metabolism of endocrine active food components.
 This review highlights the current evidence about the complex interplay between endocrine disruptors, phytoestrogens, microbiome, and BC, within the frames of a new “oncobiotic” perspective.

Oral–Gut–Estrobolome Axis May Exert a Selective Impact on Oral Cancer

“…The set of bacterial genes encoding for β-glucuronidase and β-galactosidase enzymes, described as the “estrobolome,” mechanistically allows bacteria to metabolize estrogen conjugates, modulating their levels within the enterohepatic circulation (EHC) (Plottel and Blaser 2011) (Fig. 1): this multilevel activity unveils the pivotal role of the estrobolome in the onset and prognosis of several hormone-dependent diseases, such as some specific types of cancer (Filippone et al 2022).…”