Durable changes in the gut microbiome in survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Abstract

There are limiteddata on long-term changes in the gut microbiome after acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) therapy. We compared the gut microbial composition in stool samples of nine survivors of childhood ALL with 10 healthy sibling controls using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Analysis of beta diversity within family units demonstrated a significant difference in bacterial strains between patients and healthy siblings. A significant difference in alpha diversity between patients and their healthy siblings was noted using Pielou's evenness. The composition of the gut microbiome differs between pediatric ALL survivors and healthy sibling controls for years after completion of therapy.