Effect and mechanism of gut microbiota on radiotherapy

Microbiota is composed of symbiotic bacteria and other microorganisms that colonize the human epithelial barrier. Symbiotic microbiota plays an important role in human survival and health. The microbiota is also involved in the process of initiation, progression and dissemination of cancer. Recent researches have strongly confirmed that microbiota, particularly gut microbiota, plays an important role in the regulation of anti-tumor response and toxic response. And the gut microbiota affects the immune response induced by treatment-induced immunogenic cell death in anti-cancer therapy. In this review, we will mainly focus on the regulatory effect of gut microbiota on immunomodulatory effects and toxic response induced by radiotherapy and its specific mechanism. (authors)