Colorectal Cancer-Associated Microbiome Patterns and Signatures

Area of Science:

• Microbiology
• Oncology
• Genomics

Background:

• Gut microbiota plays a crucial role in health and disease.
• Gut dysbiosis is linked to colorectal cancer (CRC) risk and progression.
• Understanding CRC-associated microbial changes is vital for diagnosis and treatment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and characterize CRC-associated gut dysbiosis across independent cohorts.
• To explore microbe-microbe interactions and host-microbe networks in CRC.
• To investigate reproducible microbial signatures and their link to CRC heterogeneity.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of six independent CRC cohorts with matched normal tissues.
• Comparison of microbial community composition between cancerous and normal tissues.
• Identification of microbial interaction networks and patient-microbe patterns using biclustering.

Main Results:

• Consistent depletion of commensal microbes (e.g., Clostridia, Bacteroidia) and enrichment of oral pathogens (e.g., Fusobacterium nucleatum) in CRC tumors.
• Identification of two reproducible patient-microbe interaction patterns (P0 and P1) across cohorts.
• P1 patients showed reduced microbial diversity and higher levels of oral pathogens compared to controls and P0.

Conclusions:

• Reproducible microbial signatures characterize colorectal cancer across diverse populations.
• CRC heterogeneity is partly explained by variations in microbial composition and host interactions.
• These findings offer insights into CRC pathogenesis and potential diagnostic biomarkers.