1. Fusobacterium nucleatum and Clinicopathologic Features of Colorectal Cancer: Results from the ColoCare Study
- Author
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Adetunji T. Toriola, Eric A. Swanson, Mary P. Bronner, Christopher I. Li, Lyen C. Huang, Jane C. Figueiredo, Hans Hauner, T Bartley Pickron, Yannick Eisele, W. Zac Stephens, Klaus-Peter Janssen, Tengda Lin, Courtney L. Scaife, Martin Schneider, Maria A. Pletneva, June L. Round, Biljana Gigic, Cornelia M. Ulrich, Erin M. Siegel, Jennifer Ose, Alexis Ulrich, Sheetal Hardikar, Richard Viskochil, Christy A. Warby, David Shibata, Anita R. Peoples, Petra Schrotz-King, Juergen Boehm, Torsten Koelsch, Kate Buhrke, Andreana N. Holowatyj, and Patrick M. Mallea
- Subjects
Oncology ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Colorectal cancer ,Article ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Internal medicine ,medicine ,Humans ,Clinical significance ,Prospective Studies ,biology ,Fusobacterium nucleatum ,Proportional hazards model ,business.industry ,Gastroenterology ,Microsatellite instability ,Odds ratio ,biology.organism_classification ,medicine.disease ,Prognosis ,Fusobacterium ,030220 oncology & carcinogenesis ,030211 gastroenterology & hepatology ,Microsatellite Instability ,business ,Colorectal Neoplasms ,Body mass index - Abstract
Background Fusobacterium nucleatum (Fn), a bacterium associated with a wide spectrum of infections, has emerged as a key microbe in colorectal carcinogenesis. However, the underlying mechanisms and clinical relevance of Fn in colorectal cancer (CRC) remain incompletely understood. Patients and Methods We examined associations between Fn abundance and clinicopathologic characteristics among 105 treatment-naive CRC patients enrolled in the international, prospective ColoCare Study. Electronic medical charts, including pathological reports, were reviewed to document clinicopathologic features. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to amplify/detect Fn DNA in preoperative fecal samples. Multinomial logistic regression was used to analyze associations between Fn abundance and patient sex, age, tumor stage, grade, site, microsatellite instability, body mass index (BMI), alcohol consumption, and smoking history. Cox proportional hazards models were used to investigate associations of Fn abundance with overall survival in adjusted models. Results Compared to patients with undetectable or low Fn abundance, patients with high Fn abundance (n = 22) were 3-fold more likely to be diagnosed with rectal versus colon cancer (odds ratio [OR] = 3.01; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.06-8.57; P = .04) after adjustment for patient sex, age, BMI, and study site. Patients with high Fn abundance also had a 5-fold increased risk of being diagnosed with rectal cancer versus right-sided colon cancer (OR = 5.32; 95% CI, 1.23-22.98; P = .03). There was no statistically significant association between Fn abundance and overall survival. Conclusion Our findings suggest that Fn abundance in fecal samples collected prior to surgery varies by tumor site among treatment-naive CRC patients. Overall, fecal Fn abundance may have diagnostic and prognostic significance in the clinical management of CRC.
- Published
- 2021