Advances of the Gut and Vaginal Microbiota in Ovarian Cancer

Ovarian cancer remains a global health challenge characterized by frequently delayed diagnosis and alarming mortality rates. Recent progress in the crosstalk between gut and vaginal microbiomes in ovarian cancer provides new insights into the complicated pathogenesis of ovarian cancer. Intestinal and vaginal dysbiosis exerts a significant in-fluence on the occurrence and development of ovarian cancer mainly through three principal pathways: estrogen metabolism potentiation, chronic inflammatory priming, and DNA epigenetic reprogramming. Recent research has provided robust evidence of great associations between dysbiosis and ovarian cancer. In this review, we summarize the characteristics of gut and vaginal microbiomes in patients with ovarian cancer and the potential mechanisms of the microbiomes promoting the development of ovarian cancer. Moreover, we discuss evidence and mechanisms of the interaction between gut and vaginal microbiomes. We believe that effective prevention and early diagnostic models will be established in the future combining microbiomes with other associated factors of ovarian cancer including genetic, environmental, lifestyle factors, etc., which is essential for reducing the high morbidity and mortality of ovarian cancer. We hope to shed light on the gut and vaginal microbiomes in the development of ovarian cancer and the potential clinical applications in this review.