title: The role of the vaginal microbiome in gynaecological cancer.
abstract: Human microbiome research has shown commensal bacteria to be a major factor in both wellness and disease pathogenesis. Interest in the microbiome has recently expanded beyond the gut to include a multitude of other organ systems for which the microbiome may have health implications. Here, we review the role of the vaginal microbiome in health and disease, with a particular focus on gynaecologic malignancies. Further, we suggest that it may be possible to expand the use of probiotics in the treatment of gynaecological cancers.
  
  
  
  A review of the research to date on the relation between the vaginal microbiome and gynaecological cancers.
authors.affiliation: Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Champer
authors.affiliation: Department of Computer Science and Center for Computational Molecular Biology, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Statistics and Computational Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.|Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Champer
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
authors.forename: I L
authors.initials: IL
authors.lastname: Brito
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Statistics and Computational Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
authors.forename: P W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Messer
authors.affiliation: Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: J Y
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.affiliation: Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Wright
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D005833:Genital Neoplasms, Female / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D064307:Microbiota / Q000502:physiology*; D019936:Probiotics; D014621:Vagina / Q000382:microbiology / Q000502:physiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D016387:Women's Health
keywords: Cervical cancer; Lactobacillus; cervical intraepithelial neoplasia; human papillomavirus; probiotics; vaginal microbiome