Bacterial Diversity Correlates with Overall Survival in Cancers of the Head and Neck, Liver, and Stomach

Abstract

One in five cancers is attributed to infectious agents, and the extent of the impact on the initiation, progression, and disease outcomes may be underestimated. Infection-associated cancers are commonly attributed to viral, and to a lesser extent, parasitic and bacterial etiologies. There is growing evidence that microbial community variation rather than a single agent can influence cancer development, progression, response to therapy, and outcome. We evaluated microbial sequences from a subset of infection-associated cancers—namely, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSC), liver hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC), and stomach adenocarcinoma (STAD) from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). A total of 470 paired tumor and adjacent normal samples were analyzed. In STAD, concurrent presence of EBV and Selemonas sputigena with a high diversity index were associated with poorer survival (HR: 2.23, 95% CI 1.26–3.94, p = 0.006 and HR: 2.31, 95%CI 1.1–4.9, p = 0.03, respectively). In LIHC, lower microbial diversity was associated with poorer overall survival (HR: 2.57, 95%CI: 1.2, 5.5, p = 0.14). Bacterial within-sample diversity correlates with overall survival in infection-associated cancers in a subset of TCGA cohorts.

Intratumoural microbiome can predict the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma after surgery

“…Compared with recent researches, 14–20 our study presents new findings and has potential translational value. On one hand, with a substantial sample size, we revealed the prognostic value of intratumoural microbiota in HCC.…”

Gastric microbiota in gastric cancer and precancerous stages: Mechanisms of carcinogenesis and clinical value

“…In gastric adenocarcinoma, greater microbial diversity was associated with poorer overall survival (OS). 80 Fusobacterium nucleatum (F. nucleatum), a common oral microbiota member, was found to be associated with worse OS in Lauren's diffuse GC. 81 Unlike colorectal cancer, a non-significant trend of lower global long interspersed element-1 DNA methylation was reported in patients with a higher F. nucleatum load.…”

“…In addition to their potential for GC diagnosis, the association between bacterial biomarkers and GC clinical outcomes raises the possibility of their use as prognostic markers. In gastric adenocarcinoma, greater microbial diversity was associated with poorer overall survival (OS) 80 . Fusobacterium nucleatum ( F. nucleatum ), a common oral microbiota member, was found to be associated with worse OS in Lauren's diffuse GC 81 .…”

Effects of chemotherapy and immunotherapy on microbial diversity in TME and engineered bacterial-mediated tumor therapy

“…There is a growing number of evidence that changes in microbial communities influence cancer development as well as treatment. By analyzing microbial sequences from head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSC), hepatocellular carcinoma of the liver (LIHC), and gastric adenocarcinoma (STAD), bacterial diversity within cancer samples was found to be related with the survival rate of associated cancers, and varies by tissue type and is dependent on interactions with gender and race ( 27 ). Patients with pancreatic cancer (PDAC) resection survive for less than 5 years, but a small percentage survive longer, by dissecting the role of PDAC tumor microbiota and immune system in influencing long-term survival.…”