Preliminary Analysis of Gut Microbiome and Gastrointestinal Symptom Burden in Breast Cancer Patients Receiving Chemotherapy Compared to Healthy Controls.

Background: Alterations in the naturally occurring bacteria of the gut, known as the gastrointestinal (GI) microbiome, may influence GI symptoms in women with breast cancer.

Objective: This work aims to describe GI symptom occurrence, duration, severity, and distress and measures of the GI microbiome among women with breast cancer receiving chemotherapy compared to age- and sex-matched healthy controls.

Interventions/methods: 22 women with breast cancer receiving chemotherapy and 17 healthy control women provided stool specimens and GI symptom data using the modified Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale (MSAS).

Breast cancer patients from the Midwest region of the United States have reduced levels of short-chain fatty acid-producing gut bacteria.

As geographical location can impact the gut microbiome, it is important to study region-specific microbiome signatures of various diseases. Therefore, we profiled the gut microbiome of breast cancer (BC) patients of the Midwestern region of the United States. The bacterial component of the gut microbiome was profiled utilizing 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing.