Helicobacter pylori antibody and pepsinogen testing for predicting gastric microbiome abundance

The Role of Microbiota in Gastrointestinal Cancer and Cancer Treatment: Chance or Curse?

The gastrointestinal (GI) tract is home to a complex and dynamic community of microorganisms, comprising bacteria, archaea, viruses, yeast, and fungi. It is widely accepted that human health is shaped by these microbes and their collective microbial genome. This so-called second genome plays an important role in normal functioning of the host, contributing to processes involved in metabolism and immune modulation. Furthermore, the gut microbiota also is capable of generating energy and nutrients (eg, short-chain fatty acids and vitamins) that are otherwise inaccessible to the host and are essential for mucosal barrier homeostasis. In recent years, numerous studies have pointed toward microbial dysbiosis as a key driver in many GI conditions, including cancers. However, comprehensive mechanistic insights on how collectively gut microbes influence carcinogenesis remain limited. In addition to their role in carcinogenesis, the gut microbiota now has been shown to play a key role in influencing clinical outcomes to cancer immunotherapy, making them valuable targets in the treatment of cancer. It also is becoming apparent that, besides the gut microbiota's impact on therapeutic outcomes, cancer treatment may in turn influence GI microbiota composition. This review provides a comprehensive overview of microbial dysbiosis in GI cancers, specifically esophageal, gastric, and colorectal cancers, potential mechanisms of microbiota in carcinogenesis, and their implications in diagnostics and cancer treatment.

Low Pepsinogen I/II Ratio and High Gastrin-17 Levels Typify Chronic Atrophic Autoimmune Gastritis Patients With Gastric Neuroendocrine Tumors

Chronic atrophic autoimmune gastritis (CAAG) can lead to the development of gastric neuroendocrine tumors (gNETs) and can be accompanied by other autoimmune diseases. This study aimed to determine, in CAAG patients, the association of gNET development, the prevalence of autoimmune diseases other than CAAG, the association of autoimmunity, and gNET development with pepsinogen I, II, gastrin-17, and Helicobacter pylori infection analysis.

High FAM189B Expression and Its Prognostic Value in Patients with Gastric Cancer

The clinical significance of the family with sequence similarity 189 member B (FAM189B) gene remains largely unknown in gastric cancer (GC). A comprehensive investigation combining multiple detection methods was carried out in the current study to unveil the clinical implications and prospective molecular characterization of FAM189B protein and mRNA in GC. The protein level of FAM189B was clearly upregulated in the tumor tissues of GC as compared to noncancerous gastric tissues with 179 GC cases and 147 noncancerous gastric controls assessed by immunohistochemistry. The upregulation of the FAM189B protein was also found in the more deteriorating period of the tumor, as there were increasing trends in the groups of larger tumors, with lymph node metastasis, a further advanced clinical stage, and a higher histological grade. Next, we focused on the mRNA level of FAM189B in GC tissues using various high-throughput data. After the screening of GEO, ArrayExpress, and SRA, we finally achieved 18 datasets, including an RNA sequencing dataset of TCGA. Altogether, 1095 cases of GC tissue samples were collected, with 305 unique examples of noncancerous controls. Concerning the mRNA level of FAM189B in GC, the final standard mean difference (SMD) was 0.46 and the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.79 for the upregulation of FAM189B mRNA, which confirmed that the FAM189B mRNA level was also markedly upregulated in GC tissues and comparable to its protein level. The survival analysis showed that the higher expression of FAM189B was a risk factor for the overall survival, first progression, and postprogression survival of GC. For the Affymetrix ID 1555515_a_at of FAM189B, the higher expression level of FAM189B predicted a lower overall survival, first progression survival, and postprogression survival with the hazard ratio (HR) being 1.56 (1.24, 1.95), 1.69 (1.32, 2.17), and 1.97 (1.5, 2.6), respectively. For the Affymetrix ID 203550_s_at of FAM189B, a similar result could be found with corresponding HR being 1.49 (1.24, 1.8), 1.49 (1.21, 1.83), and 1.66 (1.32, 2.08), respectively. The interaction of MEM, COXPRESdb coexpressed genes, and DEGs of GC finally generated 368 genes, and the pathway of the cell cycle was the top pathway enriched by KEGG. In conclusion, the overexpression of the FAM189B protein and mRNA might enhance the incidence of GC.

Exploring Esophageal Microbiomes in Esophageal Diseases: A Systematic Review

Studies that investigated esophageal microbiomes are limited when compared to those on intestinal microbiomes. Nevertheless, several studies have investigated the relationship between esophageal microbiomes and various esophageal diseases, owing to the advancement of next-generation sequencing techniques. Streptococcus is the most common bacterial taxon in a normal esophagus. Additionally, Haemophilus, Neisseria, Prevotella, and Veillonella are also found. However, gram-negative bacteria, including Prevotella, are more abundant in a diseased esophagus, such as in gastroesophageal reflux disease and Barrett’ esophagus. This systematic review aims to summarize current evidences on esophageal microbiomes in various esophageal diseases.