Metabolic Biosynthesis Pathways Identified from Fecal Microbiome Associated with Prostate Cancer

Area of Science:

• Microbiome research
• Prostate cancer biology
• Metabolic pathway analysis

Background:

• The fecal microbiome is linked to prostate cancer risk factors like obesity and inflammation.
• Microbial metabolites may influence cancer development, but their role in prostate cancer is not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate gut bacterial diversity in prostate cancer.
• To identify specific metabolic pathways associated with prostate cancer.
• To develop a microbiome-based risk profile for prostate cancer.

Main Methods:

• 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing of rectal swabs from 105 men (64 with prostate cancer, 41 without).
• Phylogenetic Investigation of Communities by Reconstruction of Unobserved States (PICRUSt) for functional inference.
• QIIME for diversity analysis and LASSO regression for pathway significance.

Main Results:

• Significant associations found between overall microbial community composition and prostate cancer status.
• Enrichments of Bacteroides and Streptococcus species were observed in cancer patients.
• Folate and arginine metabolic pathways were significantly altered; a microbiome-derived risk factor showed an AUC of 0.64.

Conclusions:

• Prostate cancer patients exhibit largely similar bacterial diversity, suggesting subtle microbiome influences.
• Microbiome analysis can provide personalized prostate cancer risk insights and guide future interventions.
• Targeting aberrant microbiomes, like enhancing bacterial folate production, may reduce prostate cancer risk.