Profiling of the tumor-associated microbiome in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma
Abstract Background Tumor tissues have been shown to host a diverse array of bacteria, suggesting a link between the intratumoral microbiota and the development and progression of cancer. The aim of this explorative study was to perform microbiome analysis in liver tumor and to evaluate its relation...
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BMC
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Gut Pathogens |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s13099-025-00727-y |
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| author | Christian Schulz Ramiro Vilchez-Vargas Elif Öcal Nadine Koch Daniel Puhr-Westerheide Lu Fornés Burnell Heidrun Hirner-Eppeneder Julia Benckert Maciej Pech Peter Reimer Chris Verslype Christiane Kuhl Albert Tran Jens Ricke Peter Malfertheiner Marianna Alunni-Fabbroni |
| author_facet | Christian Schulz Ramiro Vilchez-Vargas Elif Öcal Nadine Koch Daniel Puhr-Westerheide Lu Fornés Burnell Heidrun Hirner-Eppeneder Julia Benckert Maciej Pech Peter Reimer Chris Verslype Christiane Kuhl Albert Tran Jens Ricke Peter Malfertheiner Marianna Alunni-Fabbroni |
| author_sort | Christian Schulz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Tumor tissues have been shown to host a diverse array of bacteria, suggesting a link between the intratumoral microbiota and the development and progression of cancer. The aim of this explorative study was to perform microbiome analysis in liver tumor and to evaluate its relationship with cancer stage and survival outcome. Results We conducted an exploratory study on a cohort of 20 hepatocellular cancer patients from the SORAMIC trial. Patients were divided into curative and palliative groups according to treatment type (local ablation, alone or combined with systemic therapy). The V1-V2 regions of 16 S rRNA were sequenced starting from archival tissues. Amplicon Sequence Variants (ASVs) were taxonomically assigned to the upper (UGI) or lower (LGI) gastrointestinal tract. Bacteria were identified in both tumoral and non-tumoral tissues, showing higher diversity and correlation between diversity and shorter survival in the palliative group (S. aureus p < 0.05; B. parvula p < 0.01; A. chinensis p < 0.01). Both therapy groups were enriched with the genus Bacilli, including Streptococcus spp., Gemella haemolysans and Helicobacter pylori, commonly found in UGI. The results suggested that among palliative patients and those with shorter survival, G. haemolysans was more prevalent, while H. pylori was more often found in curative patients with longer survival. However none of the results were significantly different (p > 0.05). A higher microbiome biodiversity was associated with an increased number of lesions (Hoylesella, Agathobacter, Sphingobium, Cardiobacterium, Photobacterium and Serratia, all with p < 0.01). Conclusions The presence of bacteria, predominantly from communities of the UGI, suggests their translocation into liver tissue due to impaired barrier function of the upper gut or the ascending pathway along the biliary duct system. The intratumoral prevalence of bacteria with proinflammatory and oncogenic potential suggests their potential role in HCC pathomechanisms. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e7c0aea745a44b67a43c0dfb74a3c0aa |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1757-4749 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
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| series | Gut Pathogens |
| spelling | doaj-art-e7c0aea745a44b67a43c0dfb74a3c0aa2025-08-20T03:05:20ZengBMCGut Pathogens1757-47492025-07-0117111410.1186/s13099-025-00727-yProfiling of the tumor-associated microbiome in patients with hepatocellular carcinomaChristian Schulz0Ramiro Vilchez-Vargas1Elif Öcal2Nadine Koch3Daniel Puhr-Westerheide4Lu Fornés Burnell5Heidrun Hirner-Eppeneder6Julia Benckert7Maciej Pech8Peter Reimer9Chris Verslype10Christiane Kuhl11Albert Tran12Jens Ricke13Peter Malfertheiner14Marianna Alunni-Fabbroni15Department of Medicine II, LMU University Hospital, LMU MunichDepartment of Medicine II, LMU University Hospital, LMU MunichDepartment of Radiology, LMU University Hospital, LMU MunichDepartment of Medicine II, LMU University Hospital, LMU MunichDepartment of Radiology, LMU University Hospital, LMU MunichDepartment of Radiology, LMU University Hospital, LMU MunichDepartment of Radiology, LMU University Hospital, LMU MunichDepartment of Hepatology and GastroenterologyDepartments of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Otto-Von-Guericke University of MagdeburgDepartment of Radiology, Karlsruhe HospitalDepartment of Hepatology and Digestive Oncology, University Hospital GasthuisbergDepartment of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital, RWTH Aachen UniversityDepartment of Immunology, Université De Nice Sophia-Antipolis, CHU De NiceDepartment of Radiology, LMU University Hospital, LMU MunichDepartment of Medicine II, LMU University Hospital, LMU MunichDepartment of Radiology, LMU University Hospital, LMU MunichAbstract Background Tumor tissues have been shown to host a diverse array of bacteria, suggesting a link between the intratumoral microbiota and the development and progression of cancer. The aim of this explorative study was to perform microbiome analysis in liver tumor and to evaluate its relationship with cancer stage and survival outcome. Results We conducted an exploratory study on a cohort of 20 hepatocellular cancer patients from the SORAMIC trial. Patients were divided into curative and palliative groups according to treatment type (local ablation, alone or combined with systemic therapy). The V1-V2 regions of 16 S rRNA were sequenced starting from archival tissues. Amplicon Sequence Variants (ASVs) were taxonomically assigned to the upper (UGI) or lower (LGI) gastrointestinal tract. Bacteria were identified in both tumoral and non-tumoral tissues, showing higher diversity and correlation between diversity and shorter survival in the palliative group (S. aureus p < 0.05; B. parvula p < 0.01; A. chinensis p < 0.01). Both therapy groups were enriched with the genus Bacilli, including Streptococcus spp., Gemella haemolysans and Helicobacter pylori, commonly found in UGI. The results suggested that among palliative patients and those with shorter survival, G. haemolysans was more prevalent, while H. pylori was more often found in curative patients with longer survival. However none of the results were significantly different (p > 0.05). A higher microbiome biodiversity was associated with an increased number of lesions (Hoylesella, Agathobacter, Sphingobium, Cardiobacterium, Photobacterium and Serratia, all with p < 0.01). Conclusions The presence of bacteria, predominantly from communities of the UGI, suggests their translocation into liver tissue due to impaired barrier function of the upper gut or the ascending pathway along the biliary duct system. The intratumoral prevalence of bacteria with proinflammatory and oncogenic potential suggests their potential role in HCC pathomechanisms.https://doi.org/10.1186/s13099-025-00727-yMicrobiotaHelicobacter pyloriHepatocellular carcinomaLiverInterventional radiology |
| spellingShingle | Christian Schulz Ramiro Vilchez-Vargas Elif Öcal Nadine Koch Daniel Puhr-Westerheide Lu Fornés Burnell Heidrun Hirner-Eppeneder Julia Benckert Maciej Pech Peter Reimer Chris Verslype Christiane Kuhl Albert Tran Jens Ricke Peter Malfertheiner Marianna Alunni-Fabbroni Profiling of the tumor-associated microbiome in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma Gut Pathogens Microbiota Helicobacter pylori Hepatocellular carcinoma Liver Interventional radiology |
| title | Profiling of the tumor-associated microbiome in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma |
| title_full | Profiling of the tumor-associated microbiome in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma |
| title_fullStr | Profiling of the tumor-associated microbiome in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma |
| title_full_unstemmed | Profiling of the tumor-associated microbiome in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma |
| title_short | Profiling of the tumor-associated microbiome in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma |
| title_sort | profiling of the tumor associated microbiome in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma |
| topic | Microbiota Helicobacter pylori Hepatocellular carcinoma Liver Interventional radiology |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s13099-025-00727-y |
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