The Microbiome of Pediatric and Young Adult Cancer Survivors and
Metabolic Syndrome
Abstract
Background Metabolic syndrome and obesity occur commonly in long-term
pediatric cancer survivors and exacerbate other chronic conditions. The
intestinal microbiome is associated with metabolic syndrome and obesity
in the general population, and is perturbed during cancer therapy. We
aimed to determine if long-term survivors of pediatric cancer would have
reduced bacterial microbiome diversity, and if these findings would be
associated with components of the metabolic syndrome, obesity, and
chronic inflammation. Methods We performed a cross-sectional study
examining the intestinal microbiome, clinical factors, and biomarkers
between 35 long-term survivors and 32 age, sex, and race matched
controls. All subjects were ages 10-40, and survivors were at least five
years from the time of diagnosis. Results Survivors had decreased alpha
diversity compared to controls (Shannon index p=0.001, Simpson index
p=0.032) and differently abundant bacterial taxa. Further, among
survivors, those who received radiation to the central nervous system or
abdomen/pelvis had decreased alpha diversity compared to those that did
not receive radiation (Shannon and Simpson p<0.05 for both).
Although, no specific component of metabolic syndrome or cytokine was
associated with measures of alpha diversity, survivors with low
adiponectin-lectin ratio, elevated body mass index, and elevated
C-Reactive protein had differently abundant taxa compared to those with
normal measures. Conclusions The microbiome of cancer survivors remains
less diverse than controls even many years after diagnosis, and exposure
to radiation may lead to further loss of diversity in survivors. The
microbiome may be associated with metabolic syndrome and chronic
inflammation in survivors.