Preliminary Comparison of Oral and Intestinal Human Microbiota in Patients with Colorectal Cancer: A Pilot StudyOriginal paper
Karen Pendergrass is a microbiome researcher specializing in microbiome-targeted interventions (MBTIs). She systematically analyzes scientific literature to identify microbial patterns, develop hypotheses, and validate interventions. As the founder of the Microbiome Signatures Database, she bridges microbiome research with clinical practice. In 2012, based on her own investigative research, she became the first documented case of FMT for Celiac Disease, four years before the first published case study.
Read MoreWhat was studied?
Researchers compared saliva, feces, and cancer tissue microbiota in 10 Italian colorectal cancer (CRC) patients versus 10 healthy controls (saliva and feces only). They also measured Fusobacterium nucleatum abundance across body sites by qPCR.
How was it studied?
16S rRNA gene next-generation sequencing characterized bacterial composition across the three compartments. Real-time qPCR quantified F. nucleatum abundance and its association with clinical parameters.
What did they find?
Three phyla, Firmicutes (39.18%), Bacteroidetes (30.36%), and Proteobacteria (10.65%), made up about 80% of reads overall. CRC fecal samples appeared enriched with Bacteroidetes while healthy control feces were more Firmicutes-dominant, though the difference was not statistically significant. Cancer tissue samples showed the highest alpha diversity, and F. nucleatum abundance differed between CRC patients and controls.
Why it matters
Despite the small pilot cohort, the distinct fecal taxonomic composition in CRC patients supports a role for microbiota in CRC progression. The findings point toward potential microbial-based diagnostic tools and therapeutic targets for CRC.