Gut Microbiome as a Lifestyle Risk Factor Associated with Prostate Cancer

Area of Science:

• Microbiome research
• Cancer biomarkers
• Artificial intelligence in medicine

Background:

• Personalized prostate cancer prevention strategies are lacking.
• The gut microbiome influences non-gastrointestinal cancers, including prostate cancer.
• Gut microbiome analysis can identify individuals at higher risk due to lifestyle factors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a gut microbiome-based biomarker for prostate cancer risk assessment.
• To create a personalized tool for identifying individuals prone to prostate cancer.
• To explore the gut microbiome's role as a lifestyle biomarker.

Main Methods:

• Microbiome risk analysis using DNA sequencing and bioinformatics.
• Identification of 39 key microbial genera.
• Development of an artificial intelligence model to generate the Prostate Cancer Risk Insight using Microbiome UnderStanding (PRIMUS) score (0-1).

Main Results:

• An increasing PRIMUS score correlated with sequential increases in prostate cancer risk.
• Prostate cancer risk remained elevated after a median follow-up of 4.5 years.
• The PRIMUS score demonstrated favorable comparison to existing prostate cancer risk calculators.

Conclusions:

• The gut microbiome can act as a lifestyle risk factor for prostate cancer.
• The PRIMUS score is a promising risk-assessment tool but not for biopsy guidance.
• Future clinical trials will investigate microbiome modifiability for prostate cancer risk reduction.