The Role of Anticancer Drugs Derived from Gut Microbial Secondary Metabolites inGastrointestinal Cancer

Gastrointestinal (GI) cancer is a major global health concern with rising incidence and mortality rates. Emergingresearch highlights the dual role of gut microbial secondary metabolites in cancer progression and treatment.While compounds like short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and bacteriocins exhibit anticancer properties bymodulating immune responses and inducing apoptosis, others, such as secondary bile acids, promote tumorgrowth and therapy resistance. Leveraging microbial metabolites has led to the development of anticancer agentslike doxorubicin and rapamycin, which target key oncogenic pathways.This review explores recent advances by analyzing literature from ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, and journalssuch as Pharmacological Research and Biotechnology Advances. The findings reveal the potential of microbialmetabolites in cancer therapy but also highlight challenges, including microbiota variability, limited clinical trials,and dosage optimization. Additionally, the complex interplay between microbial metabolism, diet, and hostgenetics necessitates further investigation.Despite promising preclinical data, significant barriers remain in translating findings into clinical applications.Addressing these challenges is crucial for harnessing microbial metabolites as novel, targeted therapies against GIcancer. Expanding research in this field may offer innovative strategies for improving cancer treatment outcomes.

کلیدواژه ها:

Key word:cancer ، microbial metabolites ، anticancer drugs ، and gut microbiome.