Gut Microbial Profile in Patients with Pancreatic Cancer

Abstract

Background: Pancreatic cancer is a lethal tumor with a poor prognosis. The connection between pancreatic cancer and gut microbiota is less reported. Objectives: This study analyzed microbial characteristics in patients with pancreatic cancer from the tropical area of China and explored the potential impact of the characteristic microflora on pancreatic cancer. Methods: Stool samples and blood test indices of participants were collected in Hainan, China. Metagenomic sequencing was used to analyze the gut microbiota characteristics. The R corrplot package was used to analyze the correlation between gut microbiota and blood test indices. Results: The microbial community in pancreatic cancer were clustered together and significantly separated from controls. The Simpson index was increased significantly in pancreatic cancer compared to controls. The abundances of butyrate-producing bacteria (Anaerostipes hadrus, Lachnoclostridium phocaeense, and Romboutsia ilealis), Bifidobacteria, and [Eubacterium] eligens were significantly decreased, while Fusobacterium, Enterobacter, and Enterococcus were significantly increased in pancreatic cancer. Prevotella copri may have a vital role in the bacterial interaction network. Pathways connected to metabolism, environment (bacterial secretion system), genetic information (protein export and ribosome), and human diseases (infectious diseases and drug resistance) were increased in the pancreatic cancer group. Butyrate-producing bacteria (butyrate-producing bacterium SS3/4, A. hadrus, R. intestinalis, and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii) and Bifidobacteria were significantly negatively correlated with the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio. Conclusions: The gut microbiome was distinct in patients with pancreatic cancer from the tropical area of China. Changes in intestinal flora abundance and metabolic pathways may play an essential role in the occurrence and development of pancreatic cancer.

Quantitative evaluation of gut microbiota composition in pancreatic cancer: A pooled study

“…Following further exclusion of irrelevant papers, animal experiments or cytological studies, conference abstracts, or reviews, 12 studies remained with sufficient data for meta-analysis. Therefore, 12 studies met our inclusion criteria and were ultimately included [4,[8][9][10][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] (Table 2). All included studies were case-control studies, with a median NOS score of 8 (range: 6-9) (Supplementary Table S1, Supplemental Digital Content, http://links.lww.com/MD/L300).…”

“…Following further exclusion of irrelevant papers, animal experiments or cytological studies, conference abstracts, or reviews, 12 studies remained with sufficient data for meta-analysis. Therefore, 12 studies met our inclusion criteria and were ultimately included [4,8–10,14–21] (Table 2).…”

“…We conducted random-effects meta-analyses based on 9 studies [ 4 , 8 , 9 , 14 , 15 , 17 , 19 , 20 , 22 ] evaluating the Shannon index and 5 studies [ 4 , 14 , 15 , 17 , 19 ] evaluating the Simpson index, while fixed-effects model analyses were performed based on 3 studies [ 15 , 17 , 18 ] evaluating the Chao1 index (Fig. 2 ).…”

“…At the species level, we found a maximum of 6 bacterial species that can be merged and analyzed based on 2 studies. [ 17 , 19 ] Therefore, a total of 6 species were analyzed. Among them, 3 had I 2 > 50% ( Escherichia coli, Clostridium bolteae , and Megamonas hypermegale ), and thus random-effects analyses were employed (Fig.…”

Understanding the role of gut microfloral bifidobacterium in cancer and its potential therapeutic applications

“…Pancreatic cancer is the most lethal malignancy of all, and by the time it is diagnosed, it has already reached an advanced stage with metastasis, poor prognosis, and a more aggressive form [ 53 ] . A study published in 2022 reported the gut microflora profiles in pancreatic cancer patients [ 54 ] . In pancreatic cancer patients, apart from other bacteria, bifidobacteria was also seen in significantly lower amounts.…”