Adequate Lymph Node Assessments and Investigation of Gut Microorganisms and Microbial Metabolites in Colorectal Cancer

Shuwen Han; Wei Wu; Miao Da; Jiamin Xu; Jing Zhuang; Longqi Zhang; Xiaoxiang Zhang; Xi Yang

doi:10.2147/OTT.S242017

Adequate Lymph Node Assessments and Investigation of Gut Microorganisms and Microbial Metabolites in Colorectal Cancer

Onco Targets Ther. 2020 Mar 4:13:1893-1906. doi: 10.2147/OTT.S242017. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Shuwen Han¹, Wei Wu², Miao Da³, Jiamin Xu⁴, Jing Zhuang⁴, Longqi Zhang⁵, Xiaoxiang Zhang⁶, Xi Yang⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Oncology, Huzhou Central Hospital, Affiliated Central Hospital Huzhou University, Huzhou, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China.
² Department of Gastroenterology, Huzhou Central Hospital, Huzhou, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China.
³ Department of Nursing, Huzhou Third Municipal Hospital, Huzhou, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China.
⁴ Graduate School of Nursing, Huzhou University, Huzhou, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China.
⁵ Department of Infectious Disease, Huzhou Central Hospital, Huzhou, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China.
⁶ Department of Clinical Examination, Huzhou Central Hospital, Huzhou, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China.
⁷ Department of Oncology, Huzhou Central Hospital, Huzhou, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China.

Abstract

Purpose: To analyze the lymph node metastasis status and prognosis in CRCs and to investigate the gut microorganisms and microbial metabolites at different lymph node stages.

Methods: The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database and STAT software were used to analyze the clinical features and lymph node metastasis. Bacterial 16S V3-V4 and fungal ITS V3-V4 ribosomal RNA genes were sequenced in 53 stool samples and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GS/MS) was performed to detect the microbial metabolites in 48 stool samples from CRC patients.

Results: A higher number of lymph node metastases predicted a poor prognosis. Inadequate evaluation of lymph nodes affects the accuracy of prognostic assessments. We constructed a nomogram model for the assessment of prognostic factors. There were multiple characteristic bacteria identified, including Akkermansia, Megamonas, Dialister, etc., and fungi, including Penicillium, Filobasidium, Debaryomyces, etc. A total of 27 characteristic microbial metabolites in different lymph node metastasis status were also identified.

Conclusion: Gut microorganisms and microbial metabolites may provide reference and guidance for the adequate lymph node assessments (ALNA) in CRC.

Keywords: colorectal cancer; lymph node; metabolites; metastasis; microbiome.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Major Science and Technology Projects for Medical and Health Care of Zhejiang Province (No. WKJ-ZJ-2013), and Public Welfare Technology Application Research Program of Huzhou (No. 2019GZB01).