Lung tissue microbial profile in lung cancer is distinct from emphysema

American Journal of Cancer Research

Yanhong Liu¹  Jacqueline L O’Brien²  Nadim J Ajami³  E Susan Amirian⁴  Georgina Armstrong⁵  Michael E Scheurer⁶ 

[1] Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA;Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA;Department of Molecular Virology and Microbiology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA;Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA;Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA;The Alkek Center for Metagenomics and Microbiome Research, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA

关键词: Lung cancer;    emphysema;    microbiome;    16S rRNA gene;    bacteria;   

DOI  :  

学科分类：肿瘤学

来源: e-Century Publishing Corporation

【 摘 要 】

Objectives: The composition and structure of site-specific microbiota have been investigated as potential biomarkers for a variety of chronic inflammatory diseases and cancers. While many studies have focused on the changes in the airway microbiota using respiratory specimens from patients with various respiratory diseases, more research is needed to explore the microbial profiles within the distal lung parenchyma in smokers with lung cancer and/or emphysema. Materials and Methods: To describe and contrast lung tissue-associated microbial signatures in smokers with lung cancer and/or emphysema, we employed culture-independent pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA gene hypervariable V4 region and compositional analysis in non-malignant lung tissue samples obtained from 40 heavy smokers, including 10 emphysema-only, 11 lung cancer-only, and 19 with both lung cancer and emphysema. Results and Conclusion: The emphysema-only group presented a lower bacterial community evenness defined by a significantly lower Shannon diversity index compared to the lung cancer patients with or without emphysema (P = 0.006). Furthermore, community compositions of lung cancer patients with or without emphysema were characterized by a significantly lower abundance of Proteobacteria (primary the genera Acinetobacter and Acidovorax) and higher prevalence of Firmicutes (Streptococcus) and Bacteroidetes (Prevotella), compared to emphysema-only patients. In conclusion, the lung microbial composition and communities structures of smokers with lung cancer are distinct from the emphysema-only patients. Although preliminary, our findings suggest that lung microbiome changes could be a biomarker of lung cancer that could eventually be used to help screening for the disease.

【 授权许可】

CC BY-NC