The link “Cancer and autoimmune diseases” in the light of microbiota: Evidence of a potential culprit

Evidence establishes that chronic inflammation and autoimmunity are associated with cancer development and patients with a primary malignancy may develop autoimmune-like diseases. Despite immune dysregulation is a common feature of both cancer and autoimmune diseases, precise mechanisms underlying this susceptibility are not clarified and different hypotheses have been proposed, starting from genetic and environmental common features, to intrinsic properties of immune system. Moreover, as the development and use of immunomodulatory therapies for cancer and autoimmune diseases are increasing, the elucidation of this relationship must be investigated in order to offer the best and most secure therapeutic options. The microbiota could represent a potential link between autoimmune diseases and cancer. The immunomodulation role of microbiota is widely recognized and under eubiosis, it orchestrates both the innate and adaptive response of immunity, in order to discriminate and modulate the immune response itself in the most appropriate way. Therefore, a dysbiotic status can alter the immune tonus rendering the host prone to exogenous or endogenous infections, breaking the tolerance against self-components and activating the immune responses in an excessive (i.e. chronic inflammation) or deficient way, favoring the onset of neoplastic and autoimmune diseases.