Objective: Choledocholithiasis (CDL), a potential risk for cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) development, is often a consequence of bacterial infection. Thus, the microbial population that contributes to CDL might also be involved in CCA development. We compared the microbiome in bile fluid of CDL patients and CCA patients.
Methods: Bile samples were collected from CDL (n = 30) and CCA (n =30) patients. Microbial profiling was performed individually by the sequencing of V3-V4 regions of the 16S rRNA gene.
Results: Enterobacter, Pseudomonas, and Stenotrophomonas species were much more abundant in bile samples from CCA compared to CDL (p.
Keywords: bile microbiome; cholangiocarcinoma; choledocholithiasis; genotoxin-producing E. coli.