MP59-07: Does the Urinary Microbiome Profile Change after Treatment of Bladder Cancer?

Holly Houenstein, Yousuf Ramahi*, Ayat A. Shah, Philippa Doherty, Zhe Jing, Eduardo Cortes Gomez, Prashant K. Singh, Song Liu, Gary Smith, Li Tang, Khurshid A. Guru, Ahmed A. Hussein, Buffalo, NY

Introduction: We sought to investigate the change in the urinary microbiome profile after transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT).

Methods: Urine specimens were collected from consecutive patients with bladder cancer. Patients were divided into those with bladder tumors (de novo tumors; or recurrent after TURBT+/- intravesical therapy) versus those without evidence of recurrent tumor after treatment. Samples were analyzed using 16S rRNA sequencing. Alteration in urinary microbiome was described in terms of alpha (diversity within a sample), beta diversities (diversity among different samples) and differential abundance of bacteria at the genus level. Analyses were adjusted for gender, method of preservation (frozen vs preservative), and method of collection (mid-stream vs. catheter).

Results: Sixty-eight samples were analyzed (42 in “tumor” vs 26 in “no recurrent tumor” groups). Median age was 70 years (IQR 64-74) and 85% were males. All patients in the “no recurrent tumor” group had NMIBC, and 85% received BCG compared to 70% and 43% for the “tumor” group, respectively. There was no difference in alpha diversity between the 2 groups (measured by Observed, Chao, Shannon and Simpson indices) (p>0.05) (Figure 1a). Beta diversity was significantly different (p=0.04) (Figure 1b). Veillonella and Bifidobacterium were more abundant in the “tumor” group (>2FC, p=0.0002), while Escherichia-Shigella (>2FC, p=0.0002) and Helococcus (>2FC, p=0.0008) were more abundant in the “no recurrent tumor” group (Figure 2).

Conclusions: Bladder cancer patients with no recurrence exhibited a different urinary microbiome profile compared to those with tumors.

Source of Funding: Roswell Park Alliance Foundation