Figure 1.

Under normal conditions, the microbiome and the immune system interact to regulate each other and maintain a homeostatic balance. The composition of the microbiome is sensitive to environmental factors such as diet and a variety of other stressors (including temperature) and dysbiosis is associated with several disease states. It has been reported that the composition of the microbiome directly regulates response to anti-cancer chemotherapy and immunotherapy. However, the effect of thermal therapy of the microbiome and anti-tumor immune response is unknown.