Gut microbiota and metabolite signatures as predictors for therapeutic response in nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Abstract

This study investigated gut microbe-metabolite interplay in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and its therapeutic predictive potential. Through LC–MS-based plasma metabolomics and 16S rDNA sequencing of paired fecal samples from responders/non-responders, we identified Akkermansia as a treatment-response associated genus. Plasma and fecal 2-Phenylglycine showed strong correlations with Akkermansia, forming a tripartite predictive panel (plasma/fecal 2-Phenylglycine and Akkermansia) with superior treatment-response discrimination (AUC = 0.87 vs. EBV DNA 0.74). Flow cytometry revealed reduced memory B cells (CD19⁺CD27⁺) in responders. Independent cohort validation confirmed these findings, with post-treatment plasma 2-Phenylglycine levels positively correlating with CD19⁺CD27⁺ B cell recovery. Our results suggest that the gut microbes of NPC patients dynamically interact with peripheral blood and intestinal metabolites and immunity. The identified microbe–metabolite panel demonstrates promising clinical utility for predicting NPC treatment outcomes.

Keywords

nasopharyngeal carcinoma / gut microbiota / metabolite / therapeutic response / metabolic marker

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Higher Education Press 2026

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