Association between gut microbial change and acute gastrointestinal toxicity in patients with prostate cancer receiving definitive radiation therapy

Background: This prospective study investigated the association between gut microbial changes and acute gastrointestinal toxicities in prostate cancer patients receiving definitive radiation therapy (RT).

Methods: Seventy-nine fecal samples were analyzed. Stool samples were collected at the following timepoints: pre-RT (prRT), 2 weeks after the start of RT (RT-2w), 5 weeks after the start of RT (RT-5w), 1 month after completion of RT (poRT-1 m), and 3 months after completion of RT (poRT-3 m). We computed the microbial community polarization index (MCPI) as an indicator of RT-induced dysbiosis.

Results: Patients experiencing toxicity had lower alpha diversity, especially at RT-2w (p = 0.037) and RT-5w (p = 0.003). Compared to patients without toxicity, the MCPI in those experiencing toxicities was significantly elevated (p = 0.019). In terms of predicted metabolic pathways, we found linearly decreasing pathways, including carbon fixation pathways in prokaryotes (p = 0.035) and the bacterial secretion system (p = 0.005), in patients who experienced toxicities.

Conclusions: We showed RT-induced dysbiosis among patients who experienced toxicities. Reduced diversity and elevated RT-related MCPI could be helpfully used for developing individualized RT approaches.