Distinct Cutaneous Microbial Community Signatures Across Keloids, Surgical Scars, and Healthy Skin
In this cross-sectional study, we analyzed the anterior chest skin microbiome of patients with keloids, patients with normally healed surgical scars following cardiothoracic surgery, and healthy controls using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. We identified distinct genus-level microbial signatures that differentiate keloids from both surgical scars and healthy skin, suggesting that keloids are associated with a unique cutaneous microenvironment rather than nonspecific scar-related changes. These findings provide new insights into the biological heterogeneity of scar phenotypes and may have implications for understanding keloid pathophysiology and developing future microbiome-informed therapeutic strategies.