Intra-tumoral microbial community profiling and associated metabolites alterations of TNBC

Abstract

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) presents significant challenges to female health owing to the lack of therapeutic targets and its poor prognosis. In recent years, in the field of molecular pathology, there has been a growing focus on the role of intra-tumoral microbial communities and metabolic alterations in tumor cells. However, the precise mechanism through which microbiota and their metabolites influence TNBC remains unclear and warrants further investigation. In this study, we analyzed the microbial community composition in various subtypes of breast cancer through 16S rRNA MiSeq sequencing of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue samples. Notably, Turicibacter, a microbe associated with cancer response, exhibited a significantly higher abundance in TNBC. Similarly, mass spectrometry-based metabolomic analysis revealed substantial differences in specific metabolites, such as nutriacholic, pregnanetriol, and cortol. Furthermore, we observed significant correlations between the intra-tumoral microbiome, clinicopathological characteristics, and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 expression(HER2). Three microbial taxa (Cytophagaceae, Conexibacteraceae, and Flavobacteriaceae) were associated with tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes(TILs), which are indicative of antitumor immunity. This study creatively utilized FFPE tissue samples to assess intra-tumoral microbial communities and their related metabolic correlations, presenting avenues for the identification of novel diagnostic biomarkers, the development of therapeutic strategies, and the early clinical diagnosis of TNBC.