The diversity and composition of the gut microbiota are related to radiation enteritis: A systematic review

Background: The intent of this article is to review the advances in pre-clinical or clinical research probing into the relationship between the gut microbiome and radiation enteritis. Methods: Combinations of keywords with Boolean operators were used to identify relevant documents retrieved from PubMed, MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. Results: A considerable number of studies have shown that the intestinal flora interacts with treatment related side effects. The diversity and composition of gut microbiota prior to radiotherapy are linked to treatment toxicity. Radiotherapy leads to changes in the diversity and abundance of intestinal flora and alters the intestinal flora microenvironment. Conclusions: Dysbiosis caused by radiation increases the bowel’s susceptibility to injury, promotes the occurrence and development of radiation enteritis, ultimately affecting the outcomes of cancer therapy. It requires further exploration and elaboration of the occurrence and progression mechanisms so as to fundamentally reduce the incidence and severity of radiation enteritis.