Reduced microbial diversity in adult survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia and microbial associations with increased immune activation

Abstract

Background: Adult survivors of childhood cancers such as acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) have health problems that persist or develop years after cessation of therapy. These late effects include chronic inflammationrelated comorbidities such as obesity and type 2 diabetes, but the underlying cause is poorly understood. Results: We compared the anal microbiota composition of adult survivors of childhood ALL (N = 73) with healthy control subjects (N = 61). We identified an altered community with reduced microbial diversity in cancer survivors, who also exhibit signs of immune dysregulation including increased T cell activation and chronic inflammation. The bacterial community among cancer s..