Skip to main content
About the Institute
  • English
  • Français
  • Español
  • Russian
  • Portuguese

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Gastroenterology
  3. Pancreatic cancer: the cystic microbiome under suspicion
  • Our publications
    • News
    • Microbiota Mag
    • Thematic pages
    • Experts' point of view
    • Thematic folders
    • Overviews - Microbiota Magazine
  • About the Institute
    • About us
    • International Microbiota Observatory
    • Press room
    • Partnerships
  • Congresses
    • Congress calendar
    • Congress reviews
  • Continuing Medical Education
    • Accrediting courses
  • Useful documents
    • How to talk about
    • Infographics
    • Diagnosis tools
    • Patients Stories

    Join the microbiota community

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    • Bluesky

Lay public section

Find here your dedicated section
Gastroenterology
Gynecology
Pediatrics
General Medicine

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Gastroenterology
  3. Pancreatic cancer: the cystic microbiome under suspicion
Gastroenterology

Pancreatic cancer: the cystic microbiome under suspicion

Cancer
Oncology Gastroenterology

According to a Swedish study, the pancreatic microbiome could have an inflammatory potential and the growth of oral bacteria in pancreatic cystic lesions could be used as a predictive tool for progression to malignancy.

Gastroenterology
Gynecology
Pediatrics
General Medicine
  • Our publications
    • News
    • Microbiota Mag
    • Thematic pages
    • Experts' point of view
    • Thematic folders
    • Overviews - Microbiota Magazine
  • About the Institute
    • About us
    • International Microbiota Observatory
    • Press room
    • Partnerships
  • Congresses
    • Congress calendar
    • Congress reviews
  • Continuing Medical Education
    • Accrediting courses
  • Useful documents
    • How to talk about
    • Infographics
    • Diagnosis tools
    • Patients Stories

    Join the microbiota community

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    • Bluesky

Lay public section

Find here your dedicated section

Sources

This article is based on scientific information

Sharing is caring

Your colleagues might be interested in this topic. Why not share it?

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Mail

About this article

Created 11 June 2019
Updated 06 October 2021

Thanks to recent improvements in medical imaging, lesions caused by pancreatic cystic neoplasms are detected more and more often. Among them, intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPNMs) of the pancreas, which can progress to pancreatic cancer, are the most common. The pancreatic microbiota could be involved in many ways in the development of these lesions: 1) cancerous pancreatic tissue is richer in bacteria; 2) bacteria from the Fusobacterium species are associated with a poor prognostic; 3) intracystic bacteria could metabolize gemcitabine, thus reducing therapeutic effects of this anticancer drug.

Characterizing the cystic microbiome

A retrospective study has previously tried to characterize the microbiome found in different cysts, but showed no significant results, maybe because the methodology used could have induced contamination (samples were collected through the mouth and esophagus). To resolve the uncertainty, a prospective study was recently carried out, based on samples of cystic liquid and plasma collected during pancreatic resection in 105 patients at the Karolinska hospital in Sweden: 21 non-IPMN cysts, 57 IPMN cysts and 27 malignant IPMN cysts were diagnosed post hoc.

More bacteria and inflammation

Results show that patients diagnosed as carriers of an IPMN (whether it is malignant or not) have higher amounts of bacterial DNA and an increased level of IL-1β (pro-inflammatory interleukin) in the cystic liquid, compared to non-carriers. This correlation is not found in plasma, thus suggesting a local process limited to the cyst. Despite a strong individual variability of the intracystic microbiota composition, the study underlines that cysts occur simultaneously and show increased levels of some oral bacteria, such as Fusobacterium nucleatum and Granulicatella adiacens. Finally, clinical history indicates a strong presence of intracystic bacterial DNA associated, among others, to previous endoscopic lesions related to invasive procedures. However, this increase was independent from the use of proton pump inhibitors (PPI) and antibiotics.

Therapeutic outlooks

Although these results still require additional work, they suggest that some oral bacteria play a role in the development of cysts that are precursors to pancreatic cancer. Although it is too early to imagine a predictive test for pancreatic cancer based on intracystic bacterial DNA, the authors underline that the pancreatic microbiome could be eventually used to treat patients. The interest of the use of antibiotics and the impact of invasive procedures are among the avenues to explore.

Sources

Gaiser RA, Halimi A, Alkharaan H et al. Enrichment of oral microbiota in early cystic precursors to invasive pancreatic cancer. Gut. 2019 Dec;68(12):2186-2194.

 

Tags
Predictor Pancreatic cancer Pancreas Cancer Microbiome Flora
    Created 11 June 2019
    Updated 06 October 2021

    About this article

    To know more about this topic.

    Main topic

    Cancer

    Medical practice

    Oncology Gastroenterology

    Content type

    News
    Gastroenterology

    Association between fungal dysbiosis and environment

    The fungal portion of the gut microbiota (or mycobiota) has been much less studied than the bacterial porti...

    Find out more

    Your IBS Diagnosis Check List

    How many patients suffering from gut disorder do you see per week? How many are diagnosed with Irritable Bo...

    Find out more

    Probiotics: what exactly are we talking about?

    From the Latin pro and Greek bios meaning “for life”, the term “probiotic” was suggested over 60 years ago,...

    Find out more

    How do you choose a probiotic for your patient?

    Faced with a plethora of products on the market, it's not always easy for health professionals to suggest a...

    Find out more

    The Janus face of Antibiotics: Life Savers and Microbiota Disruptors

    A page turns: with the advent of antibiotics in the 20th century, this type of therapy, despite its undoubt...

    Find out more

    Fecal transplantation - ready for prime time?

    Congress review By Pr. Danny De Looze Department of Gastroenterology University Hospital Gent, Belgium ...

    Find out more

    Focus on antibiotic associated diarrhea (AAD)

    Find out more

    Dampening gastrointestinal inflammation through nutrition

    by Dr Genelle Healey

    Find out more

    Continue reading

    News
    17.06.2025

    The HACK index: identifying keystone gut species for better patient outcomes

    Read the article
    Photo: Régime méditerranéen « vert » : quels liens entre santé cardiométabolique et microbiote intestinal ?
    10.06.2022

    Green Mediterranean diet: what links between cardiometabolic health and gut microbiota?

    Read the article
    09.01.2025

    3 Keys to a successful consultation by Harry Sokol

    Read the article
    26.05.2025

    Celiac disease: the downside of going gluten-free

    Read the article
    07.02.2025

    Your functional dyspepsia diagnosis check list

    Read the article
    Everything you need to know about the microbiota gut-brain axis
    28.01.2025

    How does the gut microbiota affect the brain?

    Read the article
    Actu PRO : Malnutrition : agir sur le microbiote pour améliorer la croissance, un prototype à l’essai
    08.07.2021

    Malnutrition: acting on the microbiota in order to improve growth, a trial prototype

    Read the article
    07.05.2025

    The microbial-metabolic nexus in colon cancer

    Read the article
    • Our publications
      • News
      • Microbiota Mag
      • Thematic pages
      • Experts' point of view
      • Thematic folders
      • Overviews - Microbiota Magazine
    • About the Institute
      • About us
      • International Microbiota Observatory
      • Press room
      • Partnerships
    • Congresses
      • Congress calendar
      • Congress reviews
    • Continuing Medical Education
      • Accrediting courses
    • Useful documents
      • How to talk about
      • Infographics
      • Diagnosis tools
      • Patients Stories

      Join the microbiota community

      • Facebook
      • Twitter
      • LinkedIn
      • YouTube
      • Instagram
      • Bluesky

    Lay public section

    Find here your dedicated section
    Gastroenterology
    Gynecology
    Pediatrics
    General Medicine
    • English
    • Français
    • Español
    • Russian
    • Portuguese

    Browse the site

    • Our publications
      • News
      • Microbiota Mag
      • Thematic pages
      • Experts' point of view
      • Thematic folders
      • Overviews - Microbiota Magazine
    • About the Institute
      • About us
      • International Microbiota Observatory
      • Press room
      • Partnerships
    • Congresses
      • Congress calendar
      • Congress reviews
    • Continuing Medical Education
      • Accrediting courses
    • Useful documents
      • How to talk about
      • Infographics
      • Diagnosis tools
      • Patients Stories

      Join the microbiota community

      • Facebook
      • Twitter
      • LinkedIn
      • YouTube
      • Instagram
      • Bluesky

    Lay public section

    Find here your dedicated section

    Discover

    Gastroenterology
    Gynecology
    Pediatrics
    General Medicine

    Join the microbiota community

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    • Bluesky

    Lay public section

    Find here your dedicated section

    Redirection

    You are about to be redirected and leave our website

    • Be redirected
    • Stay on the Biocodex Microbiota Institute's website

    Stay with us !

    Join the Microbiota Community of HCPs and researchers and receive “Microbiota Digest” and "Microbiota Mag" to stay up to date on the latest news about microbiota.

    * Mandatory Fields

    BMI 20-35

    Explore

    The International Microbiota Observatory 2025 - Press release

    Microbiota Momentum: Bridging Awareness and Action

    Find out more
    17.06.2025

    The HACK index: identifying keystone gut species for better patient outcomes

    Read the article
    11.06.2025

    How menopause impacts microbiota

    Read the article

    Stay updated

    Join the Microbiota Community of HCPs and researchers and receive “Microbiota Digest” and "Microbiota Mag" to stay up to date on the latest news about microbiota.

    * Mandatory Fields

    BMI 20-35

    • Our publications
      • News
      • Microbiota Mag
      • Thematic pages
      • Experts' point of view
      • Thematic folders
      • Overviews - Microbiota Magazine
    • About the Institute
      • About us
      • International Microbiota Observatory
      • Press room
      • Partnerships
    • Congresses
      • Congress calendar
      • Congress reviews
    • Continuing Medical Education
      • Accrediting courses
    • Useful documents
      • How to talk about
      • Infographics
      • Diagnosis tools
      • Patients Stories

      Join the microbiota community

      • Facebook
      • Twitter
      • LinkedIn
      • YouTube
      • Instagram
      • Bluesky

    Lay public section

    Find here your dedicated section

    Discover

    Gastroenterology
    Gynecology
    Pediatrics
    General Medicine

    Lay public section

    Find here your dedicated section

    Join the microbiota community

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    • Bluesky

    © 2025 Biocodex. All rights reserved.

    • Legal notice
    • GTU
    • Data protection policy
    • Sitemap
    • Cookies settings
    • Digital accessibility : partially compliant
    Biocodex logo