Chemotherapy-induced gut microbiota taxonomic deviation and its association with outcomes and toxicities in breast cancer: CANTO microbiota.
2589 Background: Gut microbiota (GM) modulates immunotherapy (IT) efficacy and toxicity, but its impact on outcomes in breast cancer (BC) patients (pts) remains unclear. TOPOSCORE is a GM-derived score reflecting the ecosystem structure that classifies pts into SIG1+ or SIG2+ profiles, the latter being enriched in obligate anaerobes with immunostimulatory proprieties and associated with favorable IT outcomes. Methods: CANTO-Microbiota (target N=1000) is an ongoing substudy of the prospective CANTO cohort (NCT01993498). Stool samples were available from 209 pts (202 pre-treatment (Tx) and 94 post-Tx [after surgery, chemotherapy (CT) ±targeted-, and/or radiotherapy]), enrolled 2015-2024. GM was profiled by shotgun metagenomics and assessed as TOPOSCORE (SIG1+ vs. SIG2+) pre- and post-Tx. Associations of GM with invasive (iDFS), distant disease-free (DDFS), and overall survival (OS) (Kaplan–Meier and Cox regression models), and with treatment-related toxicities (multivariable logistic regression). Post-treatment analyses were landmark-based. Results: Median age was 46.6 years, 72% were premenopausal, 79% had stage II-III, 36% HER2+, 34% HR+/HER2-, and 30% TN, 89% received (neo)adjuvant CT, 15% IT and 33% anti-HER2-therapy. Median follow-up was 2.2 years. At baseline, 74% of pts had a SIG2+ profile. This profile was not associated with clinicopathologic features or clinical outcomes; however, SIG2+ was associated with a reduced incidence of post-treatment diarrhea and long-term neuropathy, and remained independently protective against neuropathy (OR 0.25, 95% CI 0.09–0.64; p=0.005). Paired analyses (n=87) revealed a significant shift in TOPOSCORE signatures post-treatment, resulting in an increase in SIG1+ prevalence from 28% to 47% (p=0.004), In univariable landmark Cox analyses, post-treatment SIG1+ was associated with worse iDFS (HR 5.0, 95% CI 1.1–4.2; p=0.04), DDFS (p=0.0053) and OS (p=0.04). In multivariate model adjusted for age, stage, and subtype, post-treatment SIG2+ remained independently protective for iDFS (HR 0.17, 95% CI 0.03–0.88; p=0.035). Assessing longitudinal GM trajectories, worsening patterns (SIG2+→SIG1+ in 28% and persistent SIG1+→SIG1+ in 20% of pts ) were associated with an increased risk of iDFS (HR 5.25, 95% CI 1.11–24.7; p = 0.036). Post-treatment TOPOSCORE associations with outcomes were validated in two independent prospective cohorts outside France. Conclusions: Chemotherapy is associated with measurable shifts in GM composition that correlated with treatment-related long-term toxicity and outcomes. These findings support the evaluation of microbiota centered interventions during treatment in eBC.
Authors
- Marine Fidelle (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5589-9688)
- Anne‐Laure Martin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9302-8576)
- Claire Cheymol
- Antonio Di Meglio (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0233-3189)
- Julie Havas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-5498-8574)
- François Cherifi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3842-7168)
- Courèche-Guillaume Kaderbhai
- Carole Tarpin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-9806-9662)
- Lisa Derosa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0527-2964)
- Mario Campone (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5196-5908)
- Joana M. Ribeiro
- Catherine Gaudin
- Paul Cottu
- Inês Luís
- W Jacot
- Laurence Zitvogel
- Anne Kieffer
- Olivier Tredan
- Olivier Rigal
Institutions
- Inserm (FR)
- Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (FR)
- Université de Montpellier (FR)
- Université Paris-Saclay (FR)
- Institut Gustave Roussy (FR)
- Centre Georges François Leclerc (FR)
- Institut de Cancérologie de Lorraine (FR)
- Centre de recherche en Epidémiologie et Santé des Populations (FR)
- Centre Léon Bérard (FR)
- Institut de Cancérologie de l'Ouest (FR)
- Centre François Baclesse (FR)
- Centre de Recherche en Cancérologie de Lyon (FR)
- Centre Oscar Lambret (FR)
- Institut de Recherche en Cancérologie de Montpellier (FR)
- UniCancer Group (FR)
- Institut Paoli-Calmettes (FR)
- Centre Henri Becquerel (FR)
- Institut Curie (FR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of Clinical Oncology
- Published
- 2026-05-27
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1200/jco.2026.44.16_suppl.2589
- Primary Topic
- Gut microbiota and health
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00