Intestinal flora disruption and a novel intestinal biomarker associated with nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a malignant nasopharyngeal disease with a complicated etiology that occurs mostly in southern China. Intestinal flora imbalance is believed to be associated with a variety of organ malignancies. Currently, the relationship between intestinal flora and NPC is not clear, although many studies have shown that intestinal flora can be used as a biomarker for many cancers and to predict cancer.To compare the differences in intestinal flora compositions and biological functions among 8 patients with familial NPC (NPC_F), 24 patients with sporadic NPC (NPC_S) and 27 healthy controls (NOR), we compared the intestinal flora DNA sequencing and hematological testing results between every two groups using bioinformatic methods.We, for the first time, found that NPC was associated with structural imbalances in the intestinal flora, with Clostridium ramosum that promoted the elevation of 5-HT and opportunistic pathogens being significantly increased, while probiotics significantly decreased. C. ramosum can be used as a novel biomarker and disease prediction models can be established for NPC. The new biomarker and disease prediction models can be used for disease risk prediction and the screening of high-risk populations, as well as for the early noninvasive diagnosis of NPC.