ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Microorganisms in Vertebrate Digestive Systems
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1666272
This article is part of the Research TopicUnlocking the Potential of the Microbiome in Cancer TherapyView all 7 articles
Association of biliary microflora dysbiosis with cholangiocarcinoma: a single-center study
Provisionally accepted
Xiangyu Wang1,2,3Xue Liu1,2,3Wang Niu1,2,3Chenyue Guan2,4,5
Chunlong Liu2,5,6
Jiangtao Yu2,5,7*
Kun Song1,2,5*- 1Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, the Affiliated Fuyang Hospital of Bengbu Medical University, Fuyang, Anhui, China, Fuyang, China
- 2Fuyang People's Hospital, Fuyang, China
- 3Bengbu Medical University, Bengbu, China
- 4Wannan Medical College, Wuhu, China
- 5Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery,Fuyang people's hospital, Fuyang Anhui, China
- 6Fuyang people's hospital general surgery, Fuyang Anhui, China
- 7Fuyang Hospital Affiliated to Anhui Medical University, Fuyang, China
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Background: Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is an aggressive malignancy that poses a serious threat to long-term survival. In this study, we compared the biliary microbiota and metabolomic profiles of patients with CCA and those with choledocholithiasis to identify characteristic microbial species and metabolites associated with CCA and to explore the mechanisms linking microbial dysbiosis to CCA development. Methods: A total of 25 CCA patients and 25 choledocholithiasis patients were included in the study. Bile was collected intraoperatively and analyzed using 16S rRNA sequencing and Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS) to investigate the correlation between specific microorganisms and metabolites by integrating microbiomics and metabolomics. Results: The abundance and diversity of microorganisms were similar between the two groups, however, their microbial compositions were significantly different. Microbial-metabolite interactions may contribute to CCA development through pathways such as inflammation, oxidative stress, and energy metabolism. Conclusion: These findings reveal a unique microbial community structure and metabolic profiles in CCA patients, providing potential microbial and metabolic markers for early CCA diagnosis. They also lay a theoretical foundation for the development of novel therapeutic strategies.
Keywords: Cholangiocarcinoma, Metabolomics, microbiomics, 16S r RNA, Bile
Received: 15 Jul 2025; Accepted: 13 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Liu, Niu, Guan, Liu, Yu and Song. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Jiangtao Yu, yhzy502@163.com
Kun Song, 13905589446@163.com
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