Infectious Complications Are Associated With Alterations in the Gut Microbiome in Pediatric Patients With Acute...

Area of Science:

• Microbiology
• Oncology
• Pediatrics

Background:

• Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a common childhood cancer with high survival rates.
• Infectious complications significantly impact patient quality of life and prognosis.
• Previous studies linked gut microbiome alterations to infections in hematological malignancies, but often missed functional insights.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the gut microbiome composition and function in pediatric ALL patients during treatment.
• To identify specific microbial species and pathways associated with infectious complications.
• To assess the potential of the microbiome for predicting infection risk.

Main Methods:

• Combined 16S rRNA gene and metagenomic shotgun sequencing of the gut microbiome.
• Analysis of an independent cohort of pediatric ALL patients undergoing therapy.
• Comparison of microbiome diversity, species abundance, and functional pathways between patients with and without infections.

Main Results:

• Distinct differences in alpha and beta diversity were observed in patients with infectious complications within the first six months of therapy.
• Specific bacterial species and functional pathways showed significant abundance differences in patients experiencing infections.
• Machine learning models utilizing patient metadata and bacterial species achieved 84.09% accuracy in classifying samples, with bacterial species being key predictors.

Conclusions:

• The gut microbiome plays a significant role in infectious complications during pediatric ALL treatment.
• Microbiome profiling, including species and functional analysis, offers insights into infection risk.
• Further research into microbiome-targeted interventions could improve outcomes for pediatric ALL patients.