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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Microbiomes
Sec. Host and Microbe Associations
Volume 3 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/frmbi.2024.1457537
This article is part of the Research Topic The Respiratory System Microbiome: Diversity, Function and Health View all articles

Metagenomic Characterization of the Tracheobronchial Microbiome in Lung Cancer

Provisionally accepted
Alexis Bailey Alexis Bailey 1Stephanie Hogue Stephanie Hogue 2Christine M. Pierce Christine M. Pierce 2Shirlene Paul Shirlene Paul 2Natalie Fuente Natalie Fuente 2Ram Thapa Ram Thapa 3Youngchul Kim Youngchul Kim 3Lary A. Robinson Lary A. Robinson 1*
  • 1 Department of Thoracic Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, United States
  • 2 Department of Cancer Epidemiology, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, United States
  • 3 Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The tracheobronchial and oral microbiome may be associated with lung cancer, potentially acting as predictive biomarkers. Therefore, we studied the lung and oral bacteriome and virome in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients compared to melanoma controls to discover distinguishable features that may suggest lung cancer microbial biomarkers.In this pilot case-control study, we recruited ten patients with early-stage NSCLC (cases) and ten age-matched melanoma patients (controls) who both underwent tumor resection. Preoperative oral gargles were collected from both groups, who then underwent transbronchoscopic tracheal lavage after intubation. Lung tumor and adjacent non-neoplastic lung were sterilely collected after resection. Microbial DNA from all lung specimens underwent 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Lavage and gargle specimens underwent whole-genome shotgun sequencing. Microbiome metrics were calculated to compare both cohorts. T-tests and Wilcoxon rank sum tests were used to test for significant differences in alpha diversity between cohorts. PERMANOVA was used to compare beta diversity.No clear differences were found in the microbial community structure of case and control gargles, but beta diversity of case and control lavages significantly differed. Two species, Granulicatella adiacens and Neisseria subflava, which are both common oral commensal organisms, appeared in much higher abundance in case versus control lavages. Case lavages also maintained higher relative abundances of other oral commensals compared to controls.Lung lavages demonstrated oral microbiota enrichment in cases compared to controls, suggesting microaspiration and resultant inflammation. The oral commensals Granulicatella adiacens and Neisseria subflava were more abundant in the tracheobronchial lavages of lung cancer versus melanoma patients, implicating these microorganisms as potential lung cancer biomarkers, warranting further validation studies.

    Keywords: Lung Cancer Microbiome Non-small cell lung cancer; Tracheal microbiota, Oral microbiota, Lung Microbiome, Microaspiration, lung inflammation

    Received: 30 Jun 2024; Accepted: 31 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Bailey, Hogue, Pierce, Paul, Fuente, Thapa, Kim and Robinson. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Lary A. Robinson, Department of Thoracic Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, United States

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