Genitourinary microbiomes and prostate cancer - a systematic review and meta-analysis of tumorigeneses and cancer characteristics

Sep 21, 2026

Genitourinary microbiomes and prostate cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis evaluates associations between urinary, tissue, and secreted microbiome profiles and prostate cancer tumorigenesis as well as cancer characteristics. The study follows PRISMA-guided search and meta-analysis methods, using odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals as summary statistics. Results integrate 17 eligible studies (2,195 patients) and compare relative microbial abundance in prostate cancer cases versus non-cancer controls, including analyses of aggressiveness and disease progression, while also addressing heterogeneity in methods and specimens.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages9

Reading Time23 min

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Introduction

Material and methods

Search strategy

Results

Conclusions

447 Central European Journal of Urology | R E V I E W P A P E R UROLOGICAL ONCOLOGY
Genitourinary microbiomes and prostate cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis of tumorigeneses and cancer characteristics
Mehdi Kardoust Parizi1,2, Akihiro Matsukawa1,3, Arman Alimohammadi1, Jakob Klemm1,4, Ichiro Tsuboi1,5, Tamás Fazekas1,6, Ekaterina Laukhtina1,7, Sever Chiujdea8, Pierre I Karakiewicz9, Shahrokh F. Shariat1,7,10,11,12,13
1Department of Urology, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria 2Department of Urology, Shariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 3Department of Urology, Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
4Department of Urology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany 5Department of Urology, Shimane University Faculty of Medicine, Shimane, Japan 6Department of Urology, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
7Institute for Urology and Reproductive Health, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow, Russia 8Spitalul Clinic Județean Mures, Universitatea de Medicina și Farmacie, Științe și Tehnologie, Targu Mures, Romania 9Cancer Prognostics and Health Outcomes Unit, Division of Urology, University of Montréal Health Center, Montréal, Canada 10Department of Urology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, United States of America 11Department of Urology, Second Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
12Departments of Urology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, United States of America
13Division of Urology, Department of Special Surgery, Jordan University Hospital, The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan
Citation: Kardoust Parizi M, Matsukawa A, Alimohammadi A, et al. Genitourinary microbiomes and prostate cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis of tumorigeneses and cancer characteristics. Cent European J Urol. 2024; 77: 447-455. | | | --- | --- | | Article history
Submitted: Mar. 27, 2024
Accepted: Apr. 2, 2024
Published online: Jun. 18, 2024
Corresponding author
Shahrokh F. Shariat Comprehensive Cancer Center Department of Urology and Vienna General Hospital, Medical University of Vienna 18-20 Währinger Gürtel, A-1090 Vienna, Austria [sfshariat@gmail.com](sfshariat@gmail.com) | Introduction We assessed the association of genitourinary microbiomes with prostate cancer (PCa) tumorigeneses and cancer characteristics.
Material and methods A systematic search and meta-analysis was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement. The primary endpoints were the association between relative abundance of genitourinary microbiomes and PCa compared to non-cancerous men/prostate specimen, high grade disease, and disease progression. The odds ratio (OR) was used as the summary statistic, and results were reported with 95% conﬁdence intervals (CI) . Results Seventeen studies, comprising 2,195 patients were eligible for review and meta-analysis. The speciﬁc microbiomes in urine, prostate tissue, and prostate (or seminal) secretions were signiﬁcantly more abundant in patients with PCa compared to men in the control groups in individual studies.
Certain bacterial phyla, genuses, and species were signiﬁcantly associated with PCa aggressiveness and disease progression in individual studies. The relative abundance meta-analysis of ﬁve urine microbiomes revealed no statistically signiﬁcant differences between PCa patients and control groups (pooled OR, 1.35; 95% CI: 0 .70–2.59) .
Conclusions Our systematic review indicates that speciﬁc genitourinary microbiomes are more abundant in PCa and have a potential to predict/prognosticate disease aggressiveness and clinical outcomes. Nevertheless, these ﬁndings should be interpreted with caution owing to the signiﬁcant heterogeneity among studies in terms of microbiome analysis method, assessed sample’s characteristics

FAQs

What was the primary goal of the systematic review and meta-analysis?

To assess the association between genitourinary microbiomes and prostate cancer tumorigenesis and cancer characteristics, including disease severity and progression.

How were the studies selected and analyzed?

The review used a systematic search and meta-analysis conducted according to the PRISMA statement, and odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were used as the summary statistic.

What do the findings suggest about specific microbiomes and prostate cancer?

Specific genitourinary microbiomes showed greater abundance in prostate cancer patients in individual studies and may predict or prognosticate aggressiveness and clinical outcomes, though results require cautious interpretation due to heterogeneity.

Sep 21, 2026

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