Thulasika Senthakumaran will defend her thesis "Exploring gut microbiota as biomarkers for colorectal neoplasia: Insights gained from Norwegian cohorts using colonic biopsies and fecal samples" for the PhD in Health Sciences.
Trial lecture: The microbiome of human malignant tumours.
The ordinary opponents are:
The leader of the public defense is Head of Department Elin Holter Anthonisen, OsloMet.
The main supervisor is Associate Professor Hege Smith Tunsjø, OsloMet.
The co-supervisors are Senior Researcher Vahid Bemanian, Akershus University Hospital and Professor Trine Ballestad Rounge, University of Oslo.
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a complex disease affected by various factors, among which bacteria have been suggested to play a role. Understanding the microbial contribution to CRC requires investigation of the microbial landscape in various phases of CRC development.
In this research endeavor, we have investigated the composition of intestinal bacteria in both biopsies and fecal samples obtained from three distinct groups: cancer patients, patients with adenomatous polyps, and healthy individuals.
Our findings revealed significantly higher levels of bacteria originating from oral cavity, including Fusobacterium spp. in samples from cancer patients. A different group of bacteria, including Phascolarctobacterium spp. was increased in adenomatous polyps. qPCR assays targeting bacteria of both groups were established and thoroughly evaluated.
Our findings support the potential utility of gut microbiota as biomarkers for colorectal neoplasia and indicate that fecal samples can serve as a viable sample material. Further investigation using larger cohorts will be needed to evaluate the potential of these bacteria as non-invasive biomarkers for CRC, as well as the potential of these qPCR assays.