Causal relationship between gut microbiota and cancers: a two-sample Mendelian randomisation study

Area of Science:

• Microbiome research
• Cancer genomics
• Genetic epidemiology

Background:

• Observational studies and clinical trials suggest a link between gut microbiota and cancer.
• The causal relationship between gut microbiota and cancer requires further determination.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the causal association between gut microbiota and cancer using Mendelian randomization.
• To explore the directionality of causal relationships between gut microbiota and cancer.
• To identify specific gut microbial taxa causally linked to cancer development.

Main Methods:

• Utilized two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis.
• Employed gut microbiota data at phylum, class, order, family, and genus levels.
• Incorporated cancer data from the IEU Open GWAS project.

Main Results:

• Identified 11 causal relationships between genetic liability in the gut microbiome and cancer.
• Found 17 strong associations between gut microbiome genetic liability and cancer.
• Detected 24 associations between gut microbiome genetic liability and cancer across multiple datasets, including Bifidobacterium genus.

Conclusions:

• Gut microbiota is causally associated with various cancer types.
• Findings suggest potential for microbiota-mediated cancer insights in mechanistic and clinical studies.
• The study provides a foundation for future research into the gut microbiome's role in cancer etiology and treatment.