Bacterial Infections Role in Gynecological Cancers Development: Narrative Review

BACKGROUND: Gynecological cancers are among the most common cancers in women that affect female reproductive organs. The most common gynecological cancers are ovarian, cervical, uterine/endometrial, vaginal, and vulvar cancer. Women's reproductive organs have a dynamic and relative microbial balance. The disruption in the balance of the microbiome could result in numerous gynecological diseases, as well as, gynecological cancers. In this study, we aimed to review new findings on the role of different bacterial infections in various types of gynecological cancers. RECENT FINDINGS: The role of bacterial infection, as an external factor, has been established in several cancers. However, the ways in which bacteria can promote the development of cancer are not fully understood. It seems that inflammation induced by bacterial infections could promote carcinogenesis. In addition, bacterial toxins and effector proteins play important roles in the progression of cancer. In this review, we attempt to present the different bacterial infections, which have been linked to gynecological cancers development. According to different researches, Chlamydia, Mycoplasma, and Bacteroides spp. are the most common bacterial infections associated with gynecological cancers. CONCLUSION: Evaluation of microbiome in reproductive organs of the patients with gynecological cancer and studies on prevention and control of the infections in the patients could be useful in verification of pathogenesis of the diseases and also founding suitable therapeutic interventions.