Distinct respiratory microbiota associates with lung cancer clinicopathological characteristics

Abstract

IntroductionCommensal microbiota dysbiosis is associated with the development of lung cancer. The current studies about composition of respiratory microbiota in lung cancer patients yielded inconsistent results. This study aimed to examine the association between airway microbiota and lung cancer clinicopathological characteristics.MethodsSurgically removed lesion tissues from 75 non-small cell lung cancer patients and 7 patients with benign pulmonary diseases were analyzed by 16S rRNA sequencing. Taxonomy, relative abundance, and diversity of respiratory microbiota were compared among lung cancer of different pathology and TNM stages. The effects of antibiotic and cigarette exposure on respiratory microbiota in lung cancer patients were also evaluated.ResultsBacterial relative abundance and alpha- and beta-diversity analysis of lung microbiota showed significant differences among lung cancer of different pathology and benign pulmonary diseases. At the genus level, the abundance differences of 13 taxa between lung squamous cell carcinoma and lung adenocarcinoma, 63 taxa between lung squamous cell carcinoma and benign pulmonary diseases, and 4 taxa between lung adenocarcinoma and benign pulmonary diseases reached statistical significance. In contrast, diversity differences were not as significant across lung cancer of different stages. No significant differences were observed in tissue taxonomic abundances and diversity at all taxonomic levels between lung cancer patients with and without antibiotic exposure 3 months prior to surgery. For lung adenocarcinoma, respiratory bacterial abundance and diversity at all taxonomic levels did not show significant differences between smokers and non-smokers.ConclusionsOur results confirm significantly differential respiratory microbiome taxa, abundance, and diversity in lung cancer of different pathology and some stages. Short-term antibiotic application might play a minor role in molding airway microbiota in lung cancer patients. Composition and diversity of respiratory microbiota in lung adenocarcinoma are not affected by cigarette exposure.

Comprehensive sampling of the lung microbiome in early-stage non–small cell lung cancer

“…A study by Leng and colleagues 8 in 2021 evaluated oral specimens, tumor tissue, and normal lung tissue, and found a “signature” of Acidovorax and Veillonella was associated with a diagnosis of squamous cell cancer, whereas the presence of Capnocytophaga was associated with adenocarcinoma. Zheng and colleagues 14 in 2023 evaluated 75 patients with lung cancer (and 7 noncancer controls) and found 13 taxonomic differences between adenocarcinomas and squamous cell cancers. They found no differences in microbiome signature based on tumor stage and no differences noted when comparing smoking status.…”

The Complex Role of the Microbiome in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Development and Progression

“…CF149, Roseburia hominis, and fungus Penicillium expansum and decreased Pseudomonas mosselii and Pseudomonas putida in BAL samples compared to patients with NSCLC without a smoking history [85]. In contrast, another study found that for lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) tissue samples, the microbiota abundance and diversity were not significantly different between smokers and non-smokers [97]. These conflicting results may be explained by the difference in lung cancer subtypes, sample type, and/or sequencing method, indicating the need for further standardization of techniques for interrogating and interpreting the lung microbiome.…”

“…CF149, Roseburia hominis, and fungus Penicillium expansum and decreased Pseudomonas mosselii and Pseudomonas putida in BAL samples compared to patients with NSCLC without a smoking history [85]. In contrast, another study found that for lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) tissue samples, the microbiota abundance and diversity were not significantly different between smokers and non-smokers [97]. These conflicting results may be…”

Bioactives of the essential oil from the leaves of Eugenia pyriformis Cambess (Myrtaceae) on the effects of tobacco

“…It is known that the microbiota participates in several physiological processes, including digestion, metabolism, immune system, and defense against pathogen invasion. Luminal microorganisms can affect cancer progression by altering the permeability of the mucosal barrier, activating inflammatory pathways, producing bacterial toxins that impair host genome stability, releasing cancer-promoting metabolites, and modulating the local immune microenvironment ( Zheng et al, 2023 ). In this way, tobacco contributes to changes in the oral, lung, and intestinal microbiome, leading to several diseases, such as periodontitis, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and cancer ( Huang and Shi, 2019 ).…”

“…The main treatment options for lung cancer include surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, driver gene-targeted therapy, and the recently emerged immunotherapy ( Zheng et al, 2023 ). Another form of treatment and prevention of the effects caused by cigarettes concerns medicinal plants and compounds isolated from plants.…”