Association of the commensal urinary microbiome with response to Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) immunotherapy in nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer.

Authors

Randy Sweis

Randy F. Sweis

The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL

Randy F. Sweis , Shay Golan , Nimrod Barashi , Elle Hill , Ciro Andolfi , Ryan P. Werntz , Jeffrey Bloodworth , Gary D. Steinberg

Organizations

The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, The University of Chicago Medicine, Chicago, IL, The University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL

Research Funding

Other

Background: Standard therapy for high-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) is intravesical BCG. Despite its established efficacy, up to 50% of patients may recur. The development of predictive biomarkers for BCG immunotherapy would enhance treatment algorithms and potentially uncover mechanisms of resistance. Recent data have characterized the presence of a commensal urine microbiome, but its role in BCG-treated NMIBC patients remains unexplored. We assessed the composition of the urine microbiome in NMIBC patients and evaluated associations with response to therapy. Methods: Patients with a newly diagnosed bladder tumor were enrolled prior to TURBT on an institutional review board-approved study at a single institution. Adjuvant BCG instillation was administrated to high-risk patients according to the surgical histology. Urine samples for microbiome assessment were collected by catheterization to eliminate urethral contamination before the TURBT and up to 8 additional timepoints. 16S sequencing and analysis was performed on baseline specimens prior to BCG. Results: Among 31 patients enrolled, 10 (32%) recurred and 21 (68%) had no recurrence with a median follow up of 6 months. Median age was 69 years (range 46-87), and 9 (29%) patients were female and 22 patients (71%) were male. The most abundant phyla observed were Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, and Tenericutes. Together these accounted for > 99% of the phyla detected in the cohort. Global analysis of distances by operational taxonomic units (OTUs) indicated a significant difference between patients with and without recurrence (Bonferroni-corrected P = 0.017). The abundance of Proteobacteria was higher in patients with recurrence (P = 0.035), with stronger differences observed for specific classes such as Gammaproteobacteria (P = 0.0025). Firmicutes such as Lactobacillales were more abundant in patients without recurrence (P = 0.049). Conclusions: In this study we detected variation in the composition of the urine microbiome in NMIBC patients, which may predict response to BCG immunotherapy. Further studies to confirm these results are ongoing.

Disclaimer

This material on this page is ©2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology, all rights reserved. Licensing available upon request. For more information, please contact licensing@asco.org

Abstract Details

Meeting

2019 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium

Session Type

Poster Session

Session Title

Poster Session B: Prostate Cancer; Urothelial Carcinoma; Penile, Urethral, Testicular, and Adrenal Cancers

Track

Urothelial Carcinoma,Prostate Cancer,Penile, Urethral, Testicular, and Adrenal Cancers

Sub Track

Urothelial Carcinoma

Citation

J Clin Oncol 37, 2019 (suppl 7S; abstr 423)

DOI

10.1200/JCO.2019.37.7_suppl.423

Abstract #

423

Poster Bd #

H14

Abstract Disclosures