A Comparative Analysis of Gut Microbiota Differences Between Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Patients and Healthy Controls in Hebei Province, China

This investigation represents a prospective descriptive investigation carried out per the Declaration of Helsinki and sanctioned by the Ethics Committee of the Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University (2022KY057).The research has been enrolled in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (http://www.chictr.org.cn) with the identifier ChiCTR2200061509. From September 2023 to September 2024, a total of 117 untreated esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients and 78 healthy controls, who were matched for gender, age, and regional proximity, were recruited from the Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University. All ESCC patients were diagnosed histopathologically and staged per the 8th edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging system. The demographic characteristics of the subjects, including gender, age, body mass index, smoking history, and alcohol consumption history, were collected. Additionally, for the ESCC group, tumor staging and location were recorded. All participants signed informed consent forms.The overarching aim was to elucidate the structural modifications and functional metabolic abnormalities within ESCC-associated microbiota, offering valuable perspectives for preventing diseases and developing individualized therapeutic strategies.