Alterations of the Human Lung and Gut Microbiomes in Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinomas and Distant Metastasis
Hui Lu, Na L. Gao, Fan Tong, Jiaojiao Wang, Huanhuan Li, Ruiguang Zhang, Hong Ma, Nong Yang, Yongchang Zhang, Ye Wang, Zhiwen Liang, Hao Zeng, Wei-Hua Chen, Xiaorong Dong
Abstract
Our survey on gut and sputum microbiota revealed that both were significantly disturbed in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and associated with distant metastasis (DM) while only the sputum microbiota was associated with non-DM NSCLC. The lung microbiota could therefore have a stronger association with (and thus may contribute more to) disease development than the gut microbiota. Mathematic models using both microbiotas performed better in patient stratification than using individual microbiota. Sputum models, however, performed similar to the combined models, suggesting a convenient, noninvasive diagnostic for NSCLC. Microbial biomarkers of distinct disease stages were mostly shared, suggesting that the same set of microbes were underlying disease progression, and the signals for distant metastasis could be acquired at early stages of the disease. Our results strongly support the feasibility of noninvasive diagnosis of NSCLC, including distant metastasis, are of clinical importance, and should warrant further research on the underlying molecular mechanisms.