Skip to main content
. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2022 Dec 22.
Published in final edited form as: Eur Urol. 2019 Jan 15;75(4):637–646. doi: 10.1016/j.eururo.2018.12.043

Table 2 –

Proposed mechanisms of interaction between the microbiome and genitourinary cancer

Direct Interactions
 Urinary microbiome
 Control of pathogen outgrowth in the urinary tract
 Cofactor for cancer development (eg, inciting chronic inflammation, production of N-nitrosamines and schistosomiasis, etc.)
 Intratumoral cancer drug metabolism
 Intratumoral cancer drug efficacy (eg, competition for fibronectin binding with BCG therapy)
Indirect Interactions
 Gastrointestinal microbiome
 Cancer drug metabolism
 Cancer drug efficacy (eg, dictating response to immunotherapy)
 Xenobiotic metabolism (dietary carcinogens, hormones, pro- or anti-inflammatory compounds, etc.)
 Control of systemic immunity (chronic inflammation, immunotherapy response, etc.)

BCG = Bacillus Calmette-Guerin.