A prospective study of the adaptive changes in the gut microbiome during standard-of-care chemoradiotherapy for gynecologic cancers.

ABSTRACT:

Background

A diverse and abundant gut microbiome can improve cancer patients' treatment response; however, the effect of pelvic chemoradiotherapy (CRT) on gut diversity and composition is unclear. The purpose of this prospective study was to identify changes in the diversity and composition of the gut microbiome during and after pelvic CRT.

Materials and methods

Rectal swabs from 58 women with cervical, vaginal, or vulvar cancer from two institutions were prospectively analyzed before CRT (baseline), during CRT (weeks 1, 3, and 5), and at first follow-up (week 12) using 16Sv4 rRNA gene sequencing of the V4 hypervariable region of the bacterial 16S rRNA marker gene. 42 of these patients received antibiotics during the study period. Observed operational taxonomic units (OTUs;

SUBMITTER: El Alam MB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7932122 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature