Abstract:
Objective To study the differences in microbial characteristics between PIK3CA-mutant and -wild-type colorectal cancer.
Methods In total, 19 patients with colorectal cancer who met the inclusion criteria were evaluated between December 2016 and December 2017 at Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology. The diversity and composition of the tumor microbiota in patients with PIK3CA-mutant (n=4) and -wild-type (n=15) colorectal cancer were explored using second-generation bacterial 16S rDNA high-throughput sequencing.
Results At the phylum level, the gut microbiota mainly comprised Proteobacteria, Thermus, Actinomycetes, Firmicutes, and Bacteroides (accounting for more than 98% of the microbiota). Alpha diversity analysis revealed significant differences in microbial diversity between PIK3CA-mutant and PIK3CA wild-type colorectal cancer patients. Further, microbial diversity in PIK3CA-mutant colorectal cancer patients was significantly higher than that in wild-type patients . Beta diversity analysis revealed significant differences in tumor microbiome characteristics between PIK3CA-mutant and -wild-type colorectal cancer patients. Spearman association network analysis revealed a positive correlation between the abundance of Bifidobacterium and Pseudomonas in tissues from patients with PIK3CA wild-type colorectal cancer.
Conclusions Significant differences were observed in the microbial community structure between patients with PIK3CA-mutant and -wild-type colorectal cancer. Further, patients with PIK3CA-mutant colorectal cancer were found to exhibit higher intestinal microbial diversity.