Gut dysbiosis in Thai intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and hepatocellular carcinoma.

Primary liver cancer (PLC), which includes intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), has the highest incidence of all cancer types in Thailand. Known etiological factors, such as viral hepatitis and chronic liver disease do not fully account for the country's unusually high incidence. However, the gut-liver axis, which contributes to carcinogenesis and disease progression, is influenced by the gut microbiome. To investigate this relationship, fecal matter from 44 Thai PLC patients and 76 healthy controls were subjected to whole-genome metagenomic shotgun sequencing and then analyzed by marker gene-based and assembly based methods. Results revealed greater gut microbiome heterogeneity in iCCA compared to HCC and healthy controls. Two Veillonella species were found to be more abundant in iCCA samples and could distinguish iCCA from HCC and healthy controls. Conversely, Ruminococcus gnavus was depleted in iCCA patients and could distinguish HCC from iCCA samples. High Veillonella genus counts in the iCCA group were associated with enriched amino acid biosynthesis and glycolysis pathways, while enriched phospholipid and thiamine metabolism pathways characterized the HCC group with high Blautia genus counts. These findings reveal distinct landscapes of gut dysbiosis among Thai iCCA and HCC patients and warrant further investigation as potential biomarkers.

Helicobacter pylori cagA, vacA and iceA genotypes in northern Thai patients with gastric disease.

Helicobacterpylori, a common infectious bacterium, has been linked to chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer and gastric cancer. Gastric biopsy specimens were obtained from 58 northern Thai patients with gastritis, 28 with gastric ulcer, 45 with duodenal ulcer and 4 with gastric cancer. cagA, vacA s1 and iceA gene was found in 88, 98, and 89% of the specimens, respectively. For vacA, the frequency of subtype s1a, s1c and combined sla and s1c was 40, 16, and 41%, respectively. The frequency of subtype s1a/m1 and s1a/s1c/m1 was 27 and 20%, respectively. Fifty-three patients (39%) were infected with multiple vacA genotypes but there was no association with clinical outcome. cagA positive and mixed vacA s1a and s1c strains were found in significantly more cases of duodenal ulcer than gastritis (p < 0.05). For iceA, subtype iceA1 reached a frequency of 60%, whereas subtype iceA2 was only 24%.

Detection of Helicobacter pylori in recurrent aphthous ulceration by nested PCR.

Recurrent aphthous ulceration (RAU) is the most common lesion of the oral mucosa. Although many factors have been postulated as etiological factors for RAU, the role of Helicobacter pylori as a causative agent of RAU remains controversial. We therefore investigated the association of H. pylori and RAU by a highly sensitive technique, nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR), in 22 patients with RAU with ages ranging from 12-36 years. Samples were brushed from the lesions and the dorsum of the tongue of each patient. In addition, samples from the dorsum of the tongue of 15 normal individuals with ages ranging from 13-40 years were used as controls. The results showed that only one sample from a lesion (4.5%) and one sample from the tongue (4.5%) of two different patients with RAU were positive for H. pylori. In the control group, 3 samples (20%) were positive for H. pylori. These findings suggest that H. pylori does not play a role in the pathogenesis of RAU and the dorsum of the tongue may be a reservoir of H. pylori in some individuals.