Our gut microbiome, also referred to as our second brain, has an active role to play in our overall health. Be it interacting with our brain, training the immune system or releasing digestive enzymes that metabolize the chemicals in the food we eat, our gut has a say in every aspect of our health- be it metabolic, digestive or neurodegenerative health. There is a lot of time & resources being spent on intercepting & reversing these diseases. However, there are other microbiomes in our body that play a vital role in our health.
When it comes to Cervical cancer, the fourth most common cancer in females, the vaginal & cervical microbiome has a role to play in female reproductive health. Similar to our gut microbiome, these vaginal microbiome consists of both beneficial & commensal bacteria that supports in stabilising pH level of vaginal canal & prevent pathogens from taking over.
Microbes living in Vagina should maintain a similar level of balance & homeostasis as does our gut microbes. Overgrowth of a particular colony of microbes can have disastrous impact – increased incidence of bacterial vaginosis similar to gut dysbiosis. This imbalance or disorder can lead to various reproductive health issues. In fact bacterial vaginosis is closely to linked to impact of human papillomavirus & cervical cancer.
Human papillomavirus is a sexually transmitted infection that can be solved through immune system defense. There are around 200 subtypes of Human papillomavirus but only few of them hold potential to cause cancer. In fact 85% of women are impacted by this virus without any long term impact. Persistent infection from high risk Human papillomavirus can lead to cervical cancer.
As such it is difficult to determine what causes this virus infection to be a serious one & infectious. Some of the causes that can increase the risk include smoking, therapy for suppressing the immune system & reproductive factors. However, vaginal & cervical microbiome has a larger role to play.
Females suffering from cervical cancer have less diverse vaginal microbiomes. One of the gut microbiome families – lactobacilli – works to maintain normal pH level in vaginal canal & is more important for women’s reproductive health. This bacteria helps lower pH of the vaginal canal, thereby making it more acidic & makes it difficult for harmful bacteria to manifest themselves. pH level actually rises without activity of this microbial family.
In fact Lactobacilli takes space on vaginal wall, stopping pathogens from able to thrive & produces bacteriocins which inhibits the growth of harmful folks.
Low level of Lactobacilli in the vaginal microbiome can cause pathogens to thrive leading to Vaginal dysbiosis. This leads to high growth of certain categories of bacteria that cause symptoms such as itching, irritation , pain or even vaginal infections & urinary tract infections.
Females with Vaginal pH levels of more than 5 have a higher risk of attracting cervical cancer. As such different strains of lactobacilli have different impact of vaginal microbiome homeostasis.
These all bacteria & yeast causing infection are part of the gut microbiome. When the gut microbiome is imbalanced, it gives an opportunity for these pathogens to thrive and cause vaginal infections. These disruptive microbes can create environment for infectious microbes, leading to inflammation & impacting immune response.
The balance & diversity of the vaginal & cervical microbiome is closely regulated by hormones. Depending upon hormonal balance, females may experience shifts in vaginal microbiome abundance & diversity including less stable times during menstruation. In fact, there is close relationship between vaginal microbiome & gut microbiome.
Gut Microbiome is said to function as an endocrine & immune organ, regulates hormones & many aspects of inflammation. In fact, microbes that populate vaginal microbiome originally came from the gut microbiome.
There are different reasons that may push low risk Human papillomavirus to high risk. For some, it may be compromised immune system stemming from gut dysbiosis for others it can be smoking
Imbalanced composition of Vaginal Microbiome is associated with risk of conditions such as :
- Fertility issues
- Pregnancy Complications
- Ovarian & Cervical Cancer
- Sexually transmitted infections
Focusing on balancing your gut & vaginal microbiome is the best foot forward to reduce the risk of cervical cancer & other sexually transmitted infections.
Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6008313/
