Skin and Gut Microbial Associations with Squamous Cell Carcinoma in Solid Organ Transplant Recipients. human skin and gut metagenome

Solid organ transplant recipients (SOTRs) are 100-times more prone to aggressive metastasizing squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) compared to the general population. Accumulating evidence suggests a detrimental influence of gut microbial dysbiosis on transplant outcomes and immunosuppressant metabolism. We hypothesized that intestinal and cutaneous dysbiosis are potential modifiers to the risk of SCC in SOTRs. To investigate this theory, we characterized the gut and skin microbiomes in SOTRs with and without history of SCC. The results of this pilot study show a trend toward the bacterial and fungal communities of the gut and skin being distinct in SOTRs with a history of SCC compared to SOTRs without a history of SCC. We demonstrate reduced diversity of the gut and skin bacteriome and mycobiome in SOTRs with a history of SCC.