Cervical cancer-related shifts from a Lactobacillus-dominant to a polymicrobial cervical microbiome. undefined

The cervical microbiome (CM) is a complex ecosystem that can change in response to gynecological cancers. To evaluate changes in the CM of patients who underwent chemoradiation (CRT) therapy for locally advanced cervical cancer. Before and after CRT, cervical swab samples were collected from 16 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix, and from 16 healthy women. All samples were subjected to 16sRNA-Seq analysis. The CM in healthy women comprised mostly Lactobacillus (>90%). The CM community in samples from pre-treatment cancer patients was heterogeneous, with a low proportion of Lactobacillus. On the phylum level, Cyanobacteria and Firmicutes significantly differentiated healthy controls from pre-treatment samples, as did 13 taxa on the genus level (including Lactobacillus, Peptostreptococcus, and Anaerococcus). On the phylum level, Cyanobacteria, Fusobacteriota, and Bacteroidota significantly differentiated pre- and post-radiation samples, as did 40 taxa on the genus level. Microbiome diversity was significantly higher in pre-treatment patients than in healthy controls, whereas microbiome richness was significantly higher in post- than in pre-treatment samples; however, this was not the case 3 or 6 months later. The results reveal marked significant alterations in the CM of cervical cancer patients relative to that in healthy controls; these changes were more striking after CRT. However, further research is needed to determine whether alteration of the CM offers new therapeutic options.

宫颈微生物组（cervical microbiome, CM）是一类复杂的生态系统，可随妇科恶性肿瘤的发生而发生动态改变。本研究旨在评估局部晚期宫颈癌患者接受放化疗（chemoradiation, CRT）后其宫颈微生物组的变化特征。研究共纳入16例宫颈鳞状细胞癌患者与16名健康女性，于放化疗前后采集其宫颈拭子样本，所有样本均开展16S核糖体RNA测序（16sRNA-Seq）分析。健康女性的宫颈微生物组以乳杆菌属（Lactobacillus）为优势菌群，占比超过90%。治疗前宫颈癌患者的宫颈微生物群落结构呈异质性特征，乳杆菌属占比偏低。在门水平上，蓝细菌门（Cyanobacteria）与厚壁菌门（Firmicutes）可显著区分健康对照与治疗前样本；属水平上共有13个分类群可实现该区分，包括乳杆菌属、消化链球菌属（Peptostreptococcus）与厌氧球菌属（Anaerococcus）。在放化疗前后样本的对比中，门水平上蓝细菌门、梭杆菌门（Fusobacteriota）与拟杆菌门（Bacteroidota）可显著区分两组样本；属水平上则有40个分类群可实现该区分。治疗前患者的宫颈微生物组多样性显著高于健康对照，而放化疗后样本的微生物组丰富度显著高于治疗前样本，但该差异在采样后3个月及6个月时不复存在。本研究结果显示，相较于健康女性，宫颈癌患者的宫颈微生物组存在显著改变，且该变化在放化疗后更为显著。不过仍需开展进一步研究，以明确宫颈微生物组的改变是否可为宫颈癌治疗提供新的治疗策略。