Identification of shared and disease-specific intratumoral microbiome-host gene associations in gastrointestinal tumors

Intratumoral microbiota and host genes interact to promote gastrointestinal disorders, but how the two interact to influence host tumorigenesis remains unclear. Here, we utilized a machine learning-based framework to jointly dissect the paired intratumoral microbiome and host transcriptome profiles in patients with colon adenocarcinoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, and gastric cancer. We identified associations between intratumoral microbes and host genes that depict shared as well as cancer type-specific patterns. We found that a common set of host genes and pathways implicated in cell proliferation and energy metabolism are associated with cancer type-specific intratumoral microbes. In addition, we also found that intratumoral microbes that have been implicated in three gastrointestinal tumors, such as <i>Lachnoclostridium</i>, are correlated with different host pathways in each tumor, indicating that similar microbes can influence host tumorigenesis in a cancer type-specific manner by regulation of different host genes. Our study reveals patterns of association between intratumoral microbiota and host genes in gastrointestinal tumors, providing new insights into the biology of gastrointestinal tumors.<b>NEW & NOTEWORTHY</b> Our study constitutes a pivotal advancement in elucidating the intricate relationship between the intratumoral microbiome and host gene regulation, thereby gaining insights into the pivotal role that the intratumoral microbiome plays in the etiology of gastrointestinal tumors.