Fusobacteria alterations are associated with colorectal cancer liver metastasis and a poor prognosis

Jin,Min; Fan,Qilin; Shang,Fumei; Zhang,Tao; Ogino,Shuji; Liu,Hongli

doi:10.3892/ol.2024.14368

Fusobacteria alterations are associated with colorectal cancer liver metastasis and a poor prognosis

Authors:
- Min Jin
- Qilin Fan
- Fumei Shang
- Tao Zhang
- Shuji Ogino
- Hongli Liu
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Affiliations: Cancer Center, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430022, P.R. China, Department of Gastroenterology, General Hospital of Central Theater Command, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, P.R. China, Program in Molecular Pathological Epidemiology, Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02212, USA
Published online on: March 26, 2024 https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2024.14368
Article Number: 235
Copyright: © Jin et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

Liver metastasis is a major cause of mortality in patients with advanced stages of colorectal cancer (CRC). The gut microbiota has been demonstrated to influence the progression of liver diseases, potentially providing novel perspectives for diagnosis, treatment and research. However, the gut microbial characteristics in CRC with liver metastasis (LM) and with no liver metastasis (NLM) have not yet been fully established. In the present study, high‑throughput 16S RNA sequencing technology was employed, in order to examine the gut microbial richness and composition in patients with CRC with LM or NLM. A discovery cohort (cohort 2; LM=18; NLM=36) and a validation cohort (cohort 3; LM=13; NLM=41) were established using fresh feces. In addition, primary carcinoma tissue samples were also analyzed (LM=8 and NLM=10) as a supplementary discovery cohort (cohort 1). The findings of the present study indicated that the intestinal microbiota richness and diversity were increased in the LM group as compared to the NLM group. A significant difference was observed in species composition between the LM and NLM group. In the two discovery cohorts with two different samples, the dominant phyla were consistent, but varied at lower taxonomic levels. Phylum Fusobacteria presented consistent and significant enrichment in LM group in both discovery cohorts. Furthermore, with the application of a random forest model and receiver operator characteristic curve analysis, Fusobacteria was identified as a potential biomarker for LM. Moreover, Fusobacteria was also a poor prognosis factor for survival. Importantly, the findings were reconfirmed in the validation cohort. On the whole, the findings of the present study demonstrated that CRC with LM and NLM exhibit distinct gut microbiota characteristics. Fusobacteria detection thus has potential for use in predicting LM and a poor prognosis of patients with CRC.

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