Breast Cancer Patients Show Different Gut Bacteria and Hydrogen Production
- Authors
- Anna Marciniak, Marzena Skrzypczak-Zielinska, Oliwia Zakerska-Banaszak, Elzbieta Nowakowska, Anna Kozaczka, Brunon Zemla, Andrzej Szpak, Dariusz Godlewski, Jadwiga Charzewska, Dorothy R. Pathak
- Journal
- Frontiers in Microbiology
- Year
- 2025
- DOI
- 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1538224
- Study Type
- Human
- Outcome
- Neutral
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Poland
- Health Condition
- Breast Cancer
- Body System
- Urogenital
TL;DR
This study found differences in the bacteria present in the urine and mouth of Polish breast cancer patients compared to healthy individuals, suggesting that these microbes might play a role in cancer development.
Key Finding
Breast cancer patients showed distinct differences in urinary and oral bacterial composition compared to healthy controls, including increased Gammaproteobacteria in urine and elevated levels of specific bacterial families in the mouth, along with predicted increases in hydrogen production pathways.
Summary
This pilot study compared the bacteria and fungi living in the urine and mouth of 24 Polish women with breast cancer to 24 healthy women. Researchers found that breast cancer patients had different types and amounts of bacteria in their urine and saliva compared to healthy controls, including higher levels of certain bacteria and lower levels of others. The study also found that the bacteria in cancer patients' samples showed signs of producing more hydrogen, though the researchers note that more research is needed to understand what these differences actually mean for cancer development.
Practical Takeaway
This is a very small pilot study (24 patients per group) that identified correlations between microbiota differences and breast cancer, but it does not establish that these microbiota changes cause cancer or that modifying them would affect cancer risk or treatment. The mention of hydrogen production is incidental to the study's main focus on microbiota composition and should not be interpreted as evidence supporting hydrogen water for cancer prevention or treatment. Much larger studies are needed before any clinical applications can be considered.
Abstract
Introduction: The human microbiota can be a critical component in the development and progression of various diseases, including cancer. This study aims to investigate the composition of the urinary and oral microbiota in Polish breast cancer (BC) patients relative to healthy controls (HCs) and to predict relevant metabolic pathways of microbiota in studied groups. Methods: Urine and oral samples from 48 participants, 24 BC cases and 24 HCs, randomly selected from 417 BC cases and 514 HCs, were analyzed using next-generation sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA gene (V1-V9) and fungal ITS regions, along with bioinformatics tools to identify and compare microbial communities and predict relevant pathways of microbiota in the studied groups. Results: BC case urine microbiota contained an increased abundance of Corynebacterium (5.2-fold, but not significant) and Gammaproteobacteria including unknown genus and Pseudomonas (1.7- and 1.8-fold) and decreased abundance of Family XI (0.3-fold) and Bifidobacteriaceae (0.4-fold) compared to HCs. Oral BC microbiota contains higher levels of the bacterial families P5D1-392, Leptotrichiaceae, and Pasteurellaceae (3.3-, 3.3-, and 1.9-fold, respectively), whereas the genera Cellulosimicrobium, Pseudomonas, and Pantoea were significantly less abundant (0.4-, 0.3-, and 0.3-fold, respectively). At the species level, the most differentiating species between BC and HC was uncultured Pseudomonas sp. (1.8-fold) in urine and Pantoea agglomerans (0.2-fold) in oral microbiota. Fungal composition did not show any significant differences between the groups. Functional analysis based on Phylogenetic Investigation of Communities by Reconstruction of Unobserved States (PICRUSt2) predicted, e.g. enhanced hydrogen production and benzoyl-CoA degradation in BC cases, as well as reduced CMP-diacetamido-8-epilegionaminic acid biosynthesis. Discussion: The study underscores the potential significance of the microbiota in BC pathogenesis. Further research is needed to elucidate the mechanisms underlying microbiota-tumor interactions and to explore the clinical applications.