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William J. Gradishar, MD, FACP, FASCO
William J. Gradishar, MD, FACP, FASCO
Posted: Friday, August 2, 2024
Research conducted by Leah M. Pyter, PhD, of The Ohio State University, Columbus, and colleagues showed that chemotherapy-induced shifts in the gut microbiome may cause neurobiologic changes and behavioral side effects. In the longitudinal, observational Intelligut study, these investigators observed that gut microbiome changes may be associated with cognitive decline in patients with breast cancer who were treated with chemotherapy. These results, which were published in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, suggest microbiome-related strategies may be useful for predicting and preventing behavioral side effects of chemotherapy.
“We found that patients treated with chemotherapy who showed decreases in cognitive performance also had reductions in the diversity of their gut microbiome,” said Dr. Pyter in an institutional press release. “We believe that gut microbiome-focused interventions, such as fecal microbial transplantation, may improve behavioral side effects of chemotherapy.”
The study recruited women with breast cancer from The Ohio State University Stefanie Spielman Comprehensive Breast Center in Columbus between November 2019 and February 2022. Researchers collected fecal samples, blood, and cognitive measures from patients before, during, and after chemotherapy.
A total of 77 patients were included in the study, with a mean age at diagnosis of 50 years. Most of the patients were White (87%) and non–Hispanic/Latino (96%). Overall, 54% of patients had stage I breast cancer, and 53% were treated with adjuvant chemotherapy.
he researchers observed that both the chemotherapy-induced changes in microbial relative abundance and decreased microbial diversity may be related to elevated circulating proinflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-6. Participants reported cognitive decline during chemotherapy, independent of gut microbiome or inflammatory markers. In contrast, a decrease in overall objective cognition seemed to be related to a decrease in microbial diversity, independent of circulating cytokines. Microbial abundance analysis found that 35% of patients with cognitive decline had unique taxonomic shifts over chemotherapy compared with patients without cognitive decline.
Disclosure: The study authors reported no conflicts of interest.
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