Longevity & AgingGallbladder Removal Fuels Colon Cancer via Gut Microbiome Disruption
A 2025 Nature Communications study demonstrates that cholecystectomy (gallbladder removal) worsens colorectal tumorigenesis by disrupting gut microbiota and bile acid metabolism. In mouse models and human samples, the procedure reduced beneficial Bifidobacterium breve while increasing Ruminococcus gnavus, elevating secondary bile acids like TUDCA/GUDCA. These shifts suppressed farnesoid X receptor (FXR) signaling, disrupted FXR's protective interaction with β-catenin, and accelerated colon tumor development. Fecal microbiota transplantation from cholecystectomy patients reproduced the tumor-promoting effect in mice. Critically, the FXR agonist obeticholic acid (OCA) reversed these harmful effects, pointing to the gut microbiota–bile acid–FXR axis as a viable preventive target for post-cholecystectomy colorectal cancer risk.
