Urinary microbiota – a potential biomarker and therapeutic target for bladder cancer

Purpose. To identify potential biomarkers and/or therapeutic targets for bladder cancer we characterized and analysed the composition of the urinary microbiota from bladder cancer and non-cancer patients. Methodology. In this study, we collected urine samples from 29 bladder cancer patients and 26 non-cancer patients. To avoid contamination and the impact of antibiotics, urine specimens were collected in a clean manner prior to antibiotic administration. Using the amplicon-based next-generation sequencing approach, the potential determinant bacteria were estimated in a between-group comparison. The results illustrated the differences in microbiota abundance among cancer and non-cancer patients and the overall number of cases carrying these bacteria. Results. We found that the urine samples contained a conserved microbiota with four phyla ( Firmicutes , Actinobacteria , Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes ), which accounted for 94.4 % of bacteria in all cases. Comparing the microbiota between the bladder cancer and control group, five genera of bacteria ( Streptococcus , Bifidobacterium , Lactobacillus , Veillonella and Actinomyces ) existed in all samples, but with significant intergroup differences (P<0.05). The bladder cancer patients presented with a higher abundance of Actinomyces , while the other strains were enriched in the control group. A higher abundance of Actinomyces europaeus was also observed in the bladder cancer group compared to the control group. Conclusion. The samples collected from the bladder cancer patients displayed a significantly different pattern relative to those from the control group. The higher abundance of A. europaeus observed in bladder cancer patient samples also suggests that the strain may be indicative of bladder cancer. The urinary microbiota may be a potential biomarker and therapeutic target for bladder cancer.