Publications by authors named "Romy Aarnoutse"

Purpose: Unpredictable chemotherapy side effects are a major barrier to successful treatment. Cell culture and mouse experiments indicate that the gut microbiota is influenced by and influences anti-cancer drugs. However, metagenomic data from patients paired to careful side effect monitoring remains limited.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) is used as an antineoplastic agent in distinct cancer types. Increasing evidence suggests that the gut microbiota might modulate 5-FU efficacy and toxicity, potentially affecting the patient's prognosis. The current experimental study investigated 5-FU-induced microbiota alterations, as well as the potential of prebiotic fibre mixtures (M1-M4) to counteract these shifts.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Gut bacteria-derived short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) and branched-chain fatty acids (BCFA) are considered to have beneficial metabolic, anti-inflammatory as well as anti-carcinogenic effects. Previous preclinical studies indicated bidirectional interactions between gut bacteria and the chemotherapeutic capecitabine or its metabolite 5-FU. This study investigated the effect of three cycles of capecitabine on fecal SCFA and BCFA levels and their associations with tumor response, nutritional status, physical performance, chemotherapy-induced toxicity, systemic inflammation and bacterial abundances in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This clinical study explored the associations between the intestinal microbiota, chemotherapy toxicity, and treatment response in postmenopausal oestrogen receptor positive breast cancer patients.Oestrogen receptor positive postmenopausal breast cancer patients were prospectively enroled in a multicentre cohort study and treated with 4 cycles of (neo)adjuvant adriamycin, cyclophosphamide (AC) followed by 4 cycles of docetaxel (D). Patients collected a faecal sample and completed a questionnaire before treatment, during AC, during D, and after completing AC-D.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Previous preclinical and clinical research has investigated the role of intestinal microbiota in carcinogenesis. Growing evidence exists that intestinal microbiota can influence breast cancer carcinogenesis. However, the role of intestinal microbiota in breast cancer needs to be further investigated.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Previous pre-clinical research has indicated that the intestinal microbiota can potentiate anti-tumour efficacy of capecitabine and that capecitabine treatment impacts intestinal microbiota composition and diversity. Using a longitudinal design, this study explores the associations between the intestinal microbiota and treatment response in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) during capecitabine treatment.

Patients And Methods: Patients with mCRC treated with capecitabine were prospectively enrolled in a multicentre cohort study.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Cancer cachexia is characterized by a negative energy balance, muscle and adipose tissue wasting, insulin resistance, and systemic inflammation. Because of its strong negative impact on prognosis and its multifactorial nature that is still not fully understood, cachexia remains an important challenge in the field of cancer treatment. Recent animal studies indicate that the gut microbiota is involved in the pathogenesis and manifestation of cancer cachexia, but human data are lacking.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the role of the intestinal microbiome in early breast cancer prognosis using shotgun metagenomics on fecal samples from patients before and after chemotherapy.
  • It finds that certain gut bacteria that are more abundant in breast cancer patients may negatively affect prognosis and are influenced by chemotherapy, potentially worsening side effects like weight gain and neurological issues.
  • The research emphasizes the need for further validation of these findings in larger prospective studies to confirm the gut microbiome's impact on breast cancer treatment outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Breast cancer tissue contains its own unique microbiota. Emerging preclinical data indicates that breast microbiota dysbiosis contributes to breast cancer initiation and progression. Furthermore, the breast microbiota may be a promising biomarker for treatment selection and prognosis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Clinical interest in the human intestinal microbiota has increased considerably. However, an overview of clinical studies investigating the link between the human intestinal microbiota and systemic cancer therapy is lacking. This systematic review summarizes all clinical studies describing the association between baseline intestinal microbiota and systemic cancer therapy outcome as well as therapy-related changes in intestinal microbiota composition.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Our purpose in this study was to assess the added clinical value of hybrid F-FDG-PET/MRI compared to conventional imaging for locoregional staging in breast cancer patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC).

Methods: In this prospective study, primary invasive cT2-4 N0 or cT1-4 N+ breast cancer patients undergoing NAC were included. A PET/MRI breast protocol was performed before treatment.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF