Correlation between gut microbiota dysbiosis, metabolic syndrome and breast cancer

Study information

Needs review

study design

case-control

Citation

PMID PubMed identifier for scientific articles.

39994329

DOI Digital object identifier for electronic documents.

10.1038/s41598-025-89801-8

URI Uniform resource identifier for web resources.

Authors

Abdelqader EM, Mahmoud WS, Gebreel HM, Kamel MM, Abu-Elghait M

Journal

Scientific reports

Year

2025

Breast cancer is a widespread cancer with a high death rate globally. The incidence of breast cancer is expected to increase, particularly in low and middle-income countries due to environmental factors and lifestyle changes. Several risk factors, such as age, family history, hormonal and reproductive factors, have been identified to influence breast cancer development. Metabolic syndrome, is a metabolic disorder that has also been linked to breast cancer risk. The gut microbiome has been suggested as one of the environmental factors leading to breast cancer. The human microbiome is mainly colonized in the intestine by various bacterial species, including Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, and Streptococcus and protect the host against pathogenic microorganisms and regulate the immune system. This study included 50 female breast cancer patients and 50 healthy controls with matched ages. Stool fresh samples were taken from test and control groups and stored at - 20 °C until further investigations. DNA of the bacteria in stool samples was extracted using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction to check for the bacterial 16s rRNA gene. The exclusion criteria included other malignancies, recent intestinal surgery, infectious diarrhea, prolonged use of antibiotics, substance addiction, and pregnancy or lactation. Our findings exhibited that breast cancer patients had a higher incidence of metabolic syndrome (60%) compared to cancer-free controls (40%). Furthermore, breast cancer patients had significantly lower Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus counts than the controls. No significant difference was found in Streptococcus counts between groups. These findings support the relationship between breast cancer and metabolic syndrome and suggest the potential involvement of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium in breast cancer pathophysiology. Our study supports the relation between breast cancer and disorder of metabolic syndrome and suggests the potential involvement of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium in breast cancer pathophysiology. Further research is necessary to investigate the complex interactions between genes, the environment, and the gut microbiome in breast cancer development. Understanding these interactions could lead to the progress of novel strategies for breast cancer prevention and treatment.

Experiment 1

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Subjects

Location of subjects: Egypt

Host species Species from which microbiome was sampled. Contact us to have more species added.: Homo sapiens

Body site Anatomical site where microbial samples were extracted from according to the Uber Anatomy Ontology: Feces Cow dung,Cow pat,Droppings,Dung,Excrement,Excreta,Faeces,Fecal material,Fecal matter,Fewmet,Frass,Guano,Matières fécales@fr,Merde@fr,Ordure,Partie de la merde@fr,Piece of shit,Porción de mierda@es,Portion of dung,Portion of excrement,Portion of faeces,Portion of fecal material,Portion of fecal matter,Portion of feces,Portion of guano,Portion of scat,Portionem cacas,Scat,Spoor,Spraint,Stool,Teil der fäkalien@de,Feces,feces

Condition The experimental condition / phenotype studied according to the Experimental Factor Ontology: Breast cancer breast cancer,breast tumor,cancer of breast,malignant breast neoplasm,malignant breast tumor,malignant neoplasm of breast,malignant neoplasm of the breast,malignant tumor of breast,malignant tumor of the breast,mammary cancer,mammary neoplasm,mammary tumor,primary breast cancer,Breast cancer

Group 0 name Corresponds to the control (unexposed) group for case-control studies: healthy controls

Group 1 name Corresponds to the case (exposed) group for case-control studies: BC patients

Group 1 definition Diagnostic criteria applied to define the specific condition / phenotype represented in the case (exposed) group: Female breast cancer patients receiving treatment, with non-metastatic invasive ductal carcinoma.

Group 0 sample size Number of subjects in the control (unexposed) group: 50

Group 1 sample size Number of subjects in the case (exposed) group: 50

Antibiotics exclusion Number of days without antibiotics usage (if applicable) and other antibiotics-related criteria used to exclude participants (if any): 3 months

Lab analysis

Sequencing type: 16S

16S variable region One or more hypervariable region(s) of the bacterial 16S gene: Not specified

Sequencing platform Manufacturer and experimental platform used for quantifying microbial abundance: RT-qPCR

Statistical Analysis

Data transformation Data transformation applied to microbial abundance measurements prior to differential abundance testing (if any).: relative abundances

Statistical test: Mann-Whitney (Wilcoxon)

Significance threshold p-value or FDR threshold used for differential abundance testing (if any): 0.05

MHT correction Have statistical tests be corrected for multiple hypothesis testing (MHT)?: No

Matched on Factors on which subjects have been matched on in a case-control study: age

Signature 1

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Source: Table 2

Description: Analysis contrasting the bacterial abundances in several groups. The data were shown as the median; the Mann-Whitney U test was used to analyze the differences between the two groups.

Abundance in Group 1: decreased abundance in BC patients

NCBI	Quality Control	Links
Lactobacillus
Bifidobacterium

Revision editor(s): Ecsharp

Experiment 2

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Differences from previous experiment shown

Subjects

Condition The experimental condition / phenotype studied according to the Experimental Factor Ontology: Metabolic syndrome Cardiovascular Syndrome, Metabolic,Cardiovascular Syndromes, Metabolic,Dysmetabolic Syndrome X,Insulin Resistance Syndrome X,Metabolic Cardiovascular Syndrome,metabolic syndrome,Metabolic Syndrome X,metabolic syndrome X,Metabolic X Syndrome,Reaven Syndrome X,Syndrome X, Dysmetabolic,Syndrome X, Insulin Resistance,Syndrome X, Metabolic,Syndrome X, Reaven,Syndrome, Metabolic Cardiovascular,Syndrome, Metabolic X,X Syndrome, Metabolic,Metabolic syndrome

Group 1 name Corresponds to the case (exposed) group for case-control studies: BC patients with MetS

Group 1 definition Diagnostic criteria applied to define the specific condition / phenotype represented in the case (exposed) group: Female BC patients with metabolic syndrome (MetS). A confirmed case of MetS required the presence of three or more criteria: waist circumference exceeding 80 cm in females; fasting glucose levels of 100 mg/dL or higher; HDL cholesterol below 50 mg/dL in females; triglyceride levels of 150 mg/dL or higher; and blood pressure of 130/85 mmHg or higher.

Group 1 sample size Number of subjects in the case (exposed) group: 30

Lab analysis

Statistical Analysis

Data transformation Data transformation applied to microbial abundance measurements prior to differential abundance testing (if any).: Not specified

Statistical test: Kruskall-Wallis

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Source: Figure 3 & 4

Description: The load of Lactobacillus bacteria (Fig. 3) and Bifidobacterium bacteria (Fig. 4) in the stools of separated patients regarding metabolic syndrome and control by Kruskall–Wallis test. Bacterial group count expressed as log10 equivalent bacteria/g of feces.

Abundance in Group 1: decreased abundance in BC patients with MetS

NCBI	Quality Control	Links
Lactobacillus
Bifidobacterium

Revision editor(s): Ecsharp

Experiment 3

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Curated date: 2025/07/13

Curator: Ecsharp

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Differences from previous experiment shown

Subjects

Group 1 name Corresponds to the case (exposed) group for case-control studies: BC patients MetS-free

Group 1 definition Diagnostic criteria applied to define the specific condition / phenotype represented in the case (exposed) group: Female BC patients with no metabolic syndrome (MetS) diagnosis. A confirmed case of MetS required the presence of three or more criteria: waist circumference exceeding 80 cm in females; fasting glucose levels of 100 mg/dL or higher; HDL cholesterol below 50 mg/dL in females; triglyceride levels of 150 mg/dL or higher; and blood pressure of 130/85 mmHg or higher.

Group 1 sample size Number of subjects in the case (exposed) group: 20

Lab analysis

Statistical Analysis

Signature 1

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Mark reviewed

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Curated date: 2025/07/13

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Source: Figure 3 & 4

Description: The load of Lactobacillus bacteria (Fig. 3) and Bifidobacterium bacteria (Fig. 4) in the stools of separated patients regarding metabolic syndrome and control by Kruskall–Wallis test. Bacterial group count expressed as log10 equivalent bacteria/g of feces.

Abundance in Group 1: decreased abundance in BC patients MetS-free

NCBI	Quality Control	Links
Lactobacillus
Bifidobacterium

Revision editor(s): Ecsharp