Introduction: Sunitinib-induced diarrhea seriously affects the prognosis of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) and reduces their quality of life. We aim to explore and find the relationship between sunitinib-induced diarrhea and gut microbiota.
Methods: Feces were collected from 31 mRCC patients receiving sunitinib treatment. To characterize the feces gut microbiome profiles of patients, the V3-V4 region of 16S rRNA sequencing was carried out in this study.
Results: Gut microbial diversity was decreased both in the severe diarrhea group and in the sunitinib-post group. The microbial composition with higher abundance of Bacteroides  (mucus degrading bacteria) and lower abundance of Faecalibacterium, Oscillospira, Ruminococcaceae, Eubacterium  and Coriobacteriaceae  (butyrate-producing bacteria) were found in patients with diarrhea. Interestingly, the abundance of Actinobacteria  was decreased in patients receiving sunitinib with severe diarrhea.
Conclusion: This study reported an association between gut microbiota and sunitinib-induced diarrhea. Defects of the butyrate-producing bacteria and the increase in Bacteroides  may be the physiological basis of sunitinib-induced diarrhea.
Keywords: sunitinib-induced diarrhea, 16S rRNA sequencing, gut microbial diversity, butyrate-producing bacteria