Role of Cutibacterium acnes and Bacteroides fragilis in Prostate Cancer: a Turkish Population-Based Case-Control Study.

BACKGROUND

Recent studies suggest that Cutibacterium acnes may be involved in prostate carcinogenesis. The po-tential association between Bacteroides fragilis and prostate cancer (PC) is still under investigation. This study aimed to determine the levels of C. acnes and B. fragilis in prostate biopsies from patients with PC and healthy controls (HCs) and to evaluate the possible roles of these bacteria in the etiopathogenesis of PC.

METHODS

This age-matched case-control study was conducted between 2020 and 2022. Prostate biopsies were collected from 60 patients with PC and 60 HCs divided in two age groups of 55 - 65 years and 66 - 75 years, respectively. C. acnes and B. fragilis levels were determined using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR).

RESULTS

C. acnes was detected in 58 (96.6%) biopsies from PC patients and in 39 (65%) from HCs (p < 0.001), B. fragilis was detected in 9 (15%) biopsies from PC patients and in 4 (6.7%) from HCs (p = 0.142). Compared with HCs, C. acnes abundance was significantly higher in PC patients aged 55 - 65 years (p = 0.002). No significant difference in B. fragilis abundance was found between the two groups in either age category (p = 0.211).

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that C. acnes may contribute to the etiopathogenesis of PC, particularly in patients aged 55 - 65 years. In contrast, our data do not support a clear association between B. fragilis and PC. Larger, prospective, molecular-based studies are needed to clarify the potential role of these bacteria in prostate carcinogenesis.