Breast cancer - the first comparative evaluation of oncobiome composition between males and females

Sep 24, 2026

Uploaded by Margaret

Background: Emerging evidence indicates breast microbiota dysbiosis may contribute to breast cancer initiation, progression, prognosis, and treatment efficacy, yet existing studies largely involve female patients and omit males. Male breast cancer occurs 70–100 times less frequently but has higher incidence-adjusted mortality. Methods: 16S rRNA gene sequencing analyzed FFPE tumor and adjacent non-pathological tissues from male and female patients. Results show a sexually dimorphic “breast microgenderome,” tumor-associated dysbiosis in men, broader dysbiosis in women, and candidate taxa linked to carcinogenesis.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

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Pages9

Reading Time23 min

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Niccolai et al. Biology of Sex Differences (2023) 14:37 [https://doi.org/10.1186/s13293-023-00523-w](https://doi.org/10.1186/s13293-023-00523-w) Biology of Sex Differences RESEARCH Open Access Breast cancer: the first comparative evaluation of oncobiome composition between males and females Elena Niccolai 1*, Simone Baldi 1, Giulia Nannini 1, Francesca Gensini2, Laura Papi2, Vania Vezzosi3, Simonetta Bianchi3, Lorenzo Orzalesi1, Matteo Ramazzotti2† and Amedeo Amedei1*† Abstract Background Emerging evidence suggests that breast microbiota dysbiosis contributes to cancer initiation, progression, prognosis and treatment efficacy. Anyway, available data are referred only to female patients, and studies on males are completely missing. Male breast cancer (MBC) is 70–100 times less frequent, but the mortality rate adjusted to incidence is higher in men than in females. Currently, MBC diagnostic approaches and treatments have generally been extrapolated from the clinical experience gained in women, while few studies focus on characterizing male cancer biology. Taking into account the rising importance of the oncobiome field and the need of MBC targeted studies, we explored the breast cancer oncobiome of male and female patients. Methods 16S rRNA gene sequencing was performed in 20 tumor and 20 non-pathological adjacent FFPE breast tissues from male and female patients. Results We documented, for the first time, the presence of a sexually dimorphic breast-associated microbiota, here defined as “breast microgenderome”. Moreover, the paired analysis of tumor and non-pathological adjacent tissues suggests the presence of a cancer-associated dysbiosis in male patients, with surrounding tissue conserving a healthier microbiome, whereas in female patients, the entire breast tissue is predisposed to cancer development. Finally, the phylum Tenericutes, especially the genera Mesoplasma and Mycobacterium, could to be involved in breast carcinogenesis, in both sexes, deserving further investigation, not only for its role in cancer development but even as potential prognostic biomarker. Conclusions Breast microbiota characterization can enhance the understanding of male breast cancer pathogenesis, being useful for detection of new prognostic biomarkers and development of innovative personalized therapies, remarking the relevant gender differences. †Matteo Ramazzotti and Amedeo Amedei shared the senior authorship. *Correspondence: Elena Niccolai [elena.niccolai@unifi.it](elena.niccolai@unifi.it)[ ](elena.niccolai@unifi.it)Amedeo Amedei [amedeo.amedei@unifi.it](amedeo.amedei@unifi.it) Full list of author information is available at the end of the article © The Author(s) 2023. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver ()[. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver ()[http://creativeco](http://creativeco)[mmons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/](mmons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)) applies to the data made available in this arti

FAQs

What problem does the study address about sex differences in breast cancer?

Most available oncobiome and microbiota evidence focuses on female patients, while studies on males are largely missing. The research targets this gap by directly comparing male and female breast cancer microbiome features.

How was the breast oncobiome microbiota measured in this study?

The study used 16S rRNA gene sequencing on FFPE samples from tumor and non-pathological adjacent breast tissues collected from male and female patients.

What were the main findings about sex-specific microbiome patterns?

The results identify a sexually dimorphic breast-associated microbiota (“breast microgenderome”). Dysbiosis in men appears confined to the tumor site, whereas in women it extends across the whole breast tissue.

Which microbial taxa are highlighted as candidates in breast carcinogenesis?

The phylum Tenericutes, especially the genera Mesoplasma and Mycobacterium, may be involved in breast carcinogenesis in both sexes and merit further investigation as potential prognostic biomarkers.

Sep 24, 2026

Uploaded by Margaret