TY - JOUR
T1 - Circulating short chain fatty acids and fatigue in patients with head and neck cancer
T2 - A longitudinal prospective study
AU - Xiao, Canhua
AU - Fedirko, Veronika
AU - Claussen, Henry
AU - Richard Johnston, H.
AU - Peng, Gang
AU - Paul, Sudeshna
AU - Maner-Smith, Kristal M.
AU - Higgins, Kristin A.
AU - Shin, Dong M.
AU - Saba, Nabil F.
AU - Wommack, Evanthia C.
AU - Bruner, Deborah W.
AU - Miller, Andrew H.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Elsevier Inc.
PY - 2023/10
Y1 - 2023/10
N2 - Fatigue among patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) has been associated with higher inflammation. Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) have been shown to have anti-inflammatory and immunoregulatory effects. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the association between SCFAs and fatigue among patients with HNC undergoing treatment with radiotherapy with or without concurrent chemotherapy. Plasma SCFAs and the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory-20 were collected prior to and one month after the completion of treatment in 59 HNC patients. The genome-wide gene expression profile was obtained from blood leukocytes prior to treatment. Lower butyrate concentrations were significantly associated with higher fatigue (p = 0.013) independent of time of assessment, controlling for covariates. A similar relationship was observed for iso/valerate (p = 0.025). Comparison of gene expression in individuals with the top and bottom 33% of butyrate or iso/valerate concentrations prior to radiotherapy revealed 1,088 and 881 significantly differentially expressed genes, respectively (raw p < 0.05). The top 10 Gene Ontology terms from the enrichment analyses revealed the involvement of pathways related to cytokines and lipid and fatty acid biosynthesis. These findings suggest that SCFAs may regulate inflammatory and immunometabolic responses and, thereby, reduce inflammatory-related symptoms, such as fatigue.
AB - Fatigue among patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) has been associated with higher inflammation. Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) have been shown to have anti-inflammatory and immunoregulatory effects. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the association between SCFAs and fatigue among patients with HNC undergoing treatment with radiotherapy with or without concurrent chemotherapy. Plasma SCFAs and the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory-20 were collected prior to and one month after the completion of treatment in 59 HNC patients. The genome-wide gene expression profile was obtained from blood leukocytes prior to treatment. Lower butyrate concentrations were significantly associated with higher fatigue (p = 0.013) independent of time of assessment, controlling for covariates. A similar relationship was observed for iso/valerate (p = 0.025). Comparison of gene expression in individuals with the top and bottom 33% of butyrate or iso/valerate concentrations prior to radiotherapy revealed 1,088 and 881 significantly differentially expressed genes, respectively (raw p < 0.05). The top 10 Gene Ontology terms from the enrichment analyses revealed the involvement of pathways related to cytokines and lipid and fatty acid biosynthesis. These findings suggest that SCFAs may regulate inflammatory and immunometabolic responses and, thereby, reduce inflammatory-related symptoms, such as fatigue.
KW - Fatigue
KW - Gene expression
KW - Inflammation
KW - Radiotherapy, chemotherapy, head and neck cancer
KW - Short chain fatty acids
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U2 - 10.1016/j.bbi.2023.07.025
DO - 10.1016/j.bbi.2023.07.025
M3 - Article
C2 - 37543249
AN - SCOPUS:85169623403
SN - 0889-1591
VL - 113
SP - 432
EP - 443
JO - Brain, behavior, and immunity
JF - Brain, behavior, and immunity
ER -