Dysbiosis of the Gut Microbiome in Lung Cancer

Abstract

Lung cancer (LC) is one of the most serious malignant tumors, which has the fastest growing morbidity and mortality worldwide. A role of the lung microbiota in LC pathogenesis has been analyzed, but a comparable role of the gut microbiota has not yet been investigated. In this study, the gut microbiota of 30 LC patients and 30 healthy controls were examined via next-generation sequencing of 16S rRNA and analyzed for diversity and biomarkers. We found that there was no decrease in significant microbial diversity (alpha diversity) in LC patients compared to controls (<i>P</i> observed = 0.1422), while the composition (beta diversity) differed significantly between patients and controls (phylum [stress = 0.153], class [stress = 0.16], order [stress = 0.146], family [stress = 0.153]). Controls had a higher abundance of the bacterial phylum <i>Actinobacteria</i> and genus <i>Bifidobacterium</i>, while patients with LC showed elevated levels of <i>Enterococcus</i>. These bacteria were found as possible biomarkers for LC. A decline of normal function of the gut microbiome in LC patients was also observed. These results provide the basic guidance for a systematic, multilayered assessment of the role of the gut microbiome in LC, which has a promising potential for early prevention and targeted intervention.