Abstract:
Objective:To investigate the composition and diversity of gut microbiome in patients with cervical cancer through the gut microbiome detection, in order to identify the early warning factors associated with the occurrence and progression of cervical cancer through analysis from the gut microbiome.
Methods:Normal and cervical cancer patients confirmed by histopathology and not receiving any treatment at the time of sampling were selected from January 2022 to July 2023 in the Guangxi Medical University Cancer Hospital. The correlation between the related factors and the occurrence and progression of cervical cancer was analyzed by gut microbiome detection.
Results:Stool samples were collected from 30 healthy females (normal control group) and 51 patients with cervical cancer (cervical cancer group) for gut microbiome detection. The α diversity and β diversity analyses indicated sufficient sampling, revealing significant differences in diversity between the two samples. Compared with the normal control group, the cervical cancer group exhibited a significant reduction in gut microbiome diversity (
P<0.05). The detected abundance of major pathogenic bacteria in the gut microbiome of the cervical cancer group significantly increased compared with the normal control group, primarily including Escherichia coli, Bacteroides fragilis, and Shigella dysentery (
P<0.05). There was a notable increase in the detection abundance of major harmful bacterial genera in the gut microbiome of the cervical cancer group, mainly consisting of Streptococcus, Clostridium, Klebsiella, Shigella (
P<0.05). The analysis of taxonomic composition and intergroup differences revealed significant disparities between
Firmicutes and
Proteobacteria in both groups. Additionally,
Bifidobacterium and
Lactobacillus were identified as key
probiotics within the gut microbiome; although they displayed a decreasing trend, this difference was not statistically significant
P>0.05). Additionally, the comparison of main metabolites and trace elements in gut microbiome between the two groups revealed varying degrees of increased amino acid content in gut microbiome of the cervical cancer group. Moreover, there was a significant increase in vitamin A, B1, B2, B6, B12, folic acid, vitamin C, E, and K levels (
P<0.05). Iron content was decreased significantly (
P<0.05), while acetic acid content decreased and butyric acid content increased among fatty acids (
P<0.05). Furthermore, there was a decrease in fat content and an increase in carbohydrate content based on nutritional assessment (
P<0.05).
Conclusion:The imbalance of gut microbiome and various nutrients in patients with cervical cancer may contribute to the development of this disease.