Characteristics and differences of gut microbiota in patients with different Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndromes of Colorectal Cancer and normal population

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is considered to be closely associated with alteration of intestinal microorganisms. The purpose of present study was to investigate the distribution of gut microbiota in the distinction of microbiota dysbiosis between two disease syndromes called Zheng-Qi-Kui-Xu(ZQKX) and Xie-Du-Yong-Sheng (XDYS). First, From February 2019 to June 2019, CRC patients presenting to the oncology department of Zhejiang Province Hospital of TCM who met the established inclusion and exclusion criteria were enrolled in this prospective study. After fresh stool specimens of healthy volunteers and CRC patients with ZQKX or XDYS syndorme were collected, 16S rRNA gene amplification and sequencing could be used to identify the diversity and abundance of gut microbiota among groups. The results demonstrated that the composition of the microbiota in general control group was superior to those in experimental groups. At the phylum level, a significantly increased abundance of Bacteroides was observed in healthy volunteers. At the class level, Erysipelothrix decreased while Lactobacillaceae showed increased abundance in the ZQKX group compared to healthy controls. At the family level, Prevotella Shan and Collins decreased while Streptococcus significantly increased in patients with XDYS syndrome compared to healthy subjects. Five differential taxa were identified between ZQKX and XDYS syndromes. We suggest that the gut microbiota contributes to the distinction between the two TCM syndromes of CRC, which can be used as a biological basis of TCM syndrome differentiation treatment in CRC.