Cervical microbiome is altered in cervical intraepithelial neoplasia after loop electrosurgical excision procedure in china

Sci Rep. 2018 Mar 21;8(1):4923. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-23389-0.

Abstract

Although human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is a major cause leading to the development of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), the relationship between genital microbiome and HPV persistence/clearance is not well established. Loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP) is one of standard treatments of CIN 2/3 globally, yet little is known about how the LEEP influence genital microbiota. We conducted a prospective study of 26 patients with CIN2/3 who underwent analysis of cervical microbiome before and after 3 months of LEEP treatment. Cervical swabs were collected, and microbiomes were analyzed by 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing. A decrease of cervical microbial diversity was observed after 3 months of LEEP treatment. Notably, a significant shift from community type of a Prevotella-containing and lack of a consistent dominant species to lactobacillus iners dominated microbiome correlated with LEEP. Particularly, Leptotrichia and clostridium were further decreased after LEEP treatment (P = 0.049 and P = 0.002, respectively). Our results suggest that the cervical microbiome is altered after LEEP treatment in patients with CIN2/3. Further studies with larger sample sizes are needed to validate these findings.

Publication types

  • Clinical Trial
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Bacteria* / classification
  • Bacteria* / genetics
  • Electrosurgery*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Microbiota*
  • Middle Aged
  • Prospective Studies
  • RNA, Bacterial / genetics
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / genetics
  • Uterine Cervical Dysplasia* / microbiology
  • Uterine Cervical Dysplasia* / surgery
  • Uterine Cervical Neoplasms* / microbiology
  • Uterine Cervical Neoplasms* / surgery

Substances

  • RNA, Bacterial
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S