Health-related quality of life is associated with fecal microbial composition in breast cancer survivors

Kristen S Smith; Abby Tissier; Jennifer R Bail; Josh R Novak; Casey D Morrow; Wendy Demark-Wahnefried; Andrew D Frugé

doi:10.1007/s00520-022-07496-3

Health-related quality of life is associated with fecal microbial composition in breast cancer survivors

Support Care Cancer. 2022 Dec 13;31(1):10. doi: 10.1007/s00520-022-07496-3.

Authors

Kristen S Smith¹, Abby Tissier², Jennifer R Bail³, Josh R Novak⁴, Casey D Morrow⁵, Wendy Demark-Wahnefried⁶, Andrew D Frugé²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Nutrition, Dietetics, and Hospitality Management, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA. kss0034@auburn.edu.
² Department of Nutrition, Dietetics, and Hospitality Management, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA.
³ College of Nursing, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, AL, USA.
⁴ Department of Human Development and Family Science, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA.
⁵ Department of Cell, Developmental, and Integrative Biology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
⁶ Department of Nutrition Science, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.

PMID: 36512109
DOI: 10.1007/s00520-022-07496-3

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate relationships between body size, gut microbiome, and health-related quality of life (QOL) in breast cancer survivors (BCS) in a clinical trial.

Methods: A cross-sectional substudy was conducted using baseline data from 70 BCS participating in a randomized controlled trial of a lifestyle intervention. Measures included anthropometrics, QOL (Short Form Health-related QOL Survey-36 [SF-36]), and 16S rRNA gene sequencing of fecal microbes. Participants were categorized by body mass index (BMI) into without obesity (≤ 29.9 kg/m²; n = 38) and with obesity (≥ 30.0 kg/m²; n = 32) groups. Differences in bacterial taxa between groups were assessed using Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance. Spearman and partial correlations explored associations between taxa and SF-36 subscales. Mediation analysis explored the relationship between BMI and SF-36 mental health summary score with alpha diversity as a mediator.

Results: Most BCS (72.9%) were non-Hispanic White with average age of 61.6 (± 8.7) years. No differences were observed for SF-36 subscales between groups. Physical functioning, vitality, and mental health subscales were negatively associated with Ruminococcus (ρ = - 0.304, p = 0.036; ρ = - 0.361, p = 0.012; ρ = - 0.495, p < 0.001) and Dorea (ρ = - 0.378, p = 0.028; ρ = - 0.33, p = 0.022; ρ = - 0.388, p = 0.006) abundance controlling for BMI. BCS without obesity had a significantly higher relative abundance of Ruminococcus (p = 0.003), Streptococcus (p = 0.049), Roseburia (p = 0.035), and Dorea (p = 0.003).

Conclusions: Fecal microbial composition differed between BCS with and without obesity, with associations between QOL and several microbial taxa. Several of these genera, previously identified as potentially beneficial, may also influence QOL in BCS. These results support further studies to determine the role of individual microbiota in QOL and obesity in cancer survivors.

Keywords: Breast cancer survivors; Gut microbiome; Obesity; Quality of life.

Publication types

Randomized Controlled Trial

MeSH terms

Breast Neoplasms* / psychology
Cancer Survivors*
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
Humans
Middle Aged
Obesity / complications
Quality of Life / psychology
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S

Substances

RNA, Ribosomal, 16S

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding