Urologic diseases interstitial cystitis (IC), overactive bladder (OAB), and urinary tract infection (UTI) affect tens of millions of people per year in the US alone. The human microbiome consists of a diverse community of bacteria (bacteriome) and viruses (virome) harbored in each individual that contributes to health and disease. Little is known about how the microbiome impacts urinary disorders. Using next-generation metagenomic sequencing, we characterized the urinary bacteriome and virome of patients with urinary disorders (IC, OAB, and UTI) and healthy controls. We show that the bacteriome was distinctly altered in patients by their respective urinary disorder. IC was characterized by a distinct prevalence of the genus Lactobacillus, while OAB was characterized by the genus Bacteroides, and UTI was characterized by Comamonas. IC, OAB, and UTI all also had significantly differed virome profiles from healthy individuals. In particular, we found that Lactobacillus phages were significantly associated with IC and Corynebacterium virus was associated with UTI samples, meanwhile no particular virus was correlated with OAB samples. Overall, we show that changes in the urinary microbiome are associated with incidence and spectrum of urinary diseases. These findings could lead to new microbiome modalities of treatment.

Breast cancer affects about 12% of women in the US. Arguably, it is one of the most advertised cancers. Mammography became a popular tool of breast cancer screening in the 1970s, and patient-geared guidelines came from the American Cancer Society (ACS) and the US Preventative Task Force (USPSTF). This research focuses on ACS guidelines, as they were the earliest as well as the most changed guidelines. Mammography guidelines changed over time due to multiple factors. This research has tracked possible causes of those changes. Research began with an extensive literature search of clinical trials, the New York Times and the Washington Post archives, systematic reviews, ACS and USPSTF archives.