ArticlePloS one2017
A pilot study using metagenomic sequencing of the sputum microbiome suggests potential bacterial biomarkers for lung cancer.
Article in PloS one, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 115 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
115 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 185 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Human Microbiome in Relation to Cancer Risk: A Systematic Review of Epidemiologic Studies.Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology · 2020Pooled it
- Review
- Sex-biased intratumoral microbiome influences tumor molecular and immune landscape and disease outcomes.Cell reports. Medicine · 2026Article
- Defining the tumor microenvironment of non-small cell lung cancer.Immunology and cell biology · 2026Review
- Sputum Liquid Biopsy for Lung Cancer Screening, Diagnosis, Subtyping, Surveillance, Response Prediction, and Prognostication: A Scoping Review.Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Integrative Analysis of Multiomic Pathways Predicts Cancer-Affected Lobes in Lung Cancer.Cancer prevention research (Philadelphia, Pa.) · 2026Article
- The oral-lung axis in lung cancer: microbial translocation, immune reprogramming, and clinical implications.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Microbiome analysis of 940 lung cancers in never-smokers reveals lack of clinically relevant associations.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Unraveling the Ecological Mechanisms Influencing the Structure and Composition of Lung Cancer Microbiomes.Microbial ecology · 2025Article
- Immune-oncology-microbiome axis in lung cancer: from carcinogenesis to therapy-a narrative review.Translational lung cancer research · 2025Review
- Lung microbiome dynamics in health and lung cancer.Microbial genomics · 2025Review
- The emerging role of microbiota in lung cancer: a new perspective on lung cancer development and treatment.Cellular oncology (Dordrecht, Netherlands) · 2025Review
- Lower Respiratory Tract Microbiome Signatures of Health and Lung Cancer Across Different Smoking Statuses.Cancers · 2025Article
- Exploring the metabolomics and metagenomics of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer: unraveling the complex interplay.Journal of thoracic disease · 2025Review
- Oral microbiome and risk of lung cancer: results from a two-sample mendelian randomization analysis.Translational lung cancer research · 2025Article
- Respiratory microbiota diversity as a predictive biomarker for the efficacy of PD‑1 blockades in patients with advanced non‑small cell lung cancer: A retrospective exploratory study.Oncology letters · 2025Article
- Variations in salivary microbiome and metabolites are associated with immunotherapy efficacy in patients with advanced NSCLC.mSystems · 2025Article
- 16S rRNA sequencing reveals relationships among enrichment of oral microbiota in the lower respiratory tract and pulmonary nodules malignant progression.Microbiology spectrum · 2025Article
- Distinctive circulating microbial metagenomic signatures in the plasma of patients with lung cancer and their potential value as molecular biomarkers.Journal of translational medicine · 2025Article
- A Perspective on Lung Cancer and Lung Microbiome: Insight on Immunity.Immunity, inflammation and disease · 2025Review
55 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Lung cancer (LC) is the most prevalent cancer worldwide, and responsible for over 1.3 million deaths each year. Currently, LC has a low five year survival rates relative to other cancers, and thus, novel methods to screen for and diagnose malignancies are necessary to improve patient outcomes. Here, we report on a pilot-sized study to evaluate the potential of the sputum microbiome as a source of non-invasive bacterial biomarkers for lung cancer status and stage. Spontaneous sputum samples were collected from ten patients referred with possible LC, of which four were eventually diagnosed with LC (LC+), and six had no LC after one year (LC-). Of the seven bacterial species found in all samples, Streptococcus viridans was significantly higher in LC+ samples. Seven further bacterial species were found only in LC-, and 16 were found only in samples from LC+. Additional taxonomic differences were identified in regards to significant fold changes between LC+ and LC-cases, with five species having significantly higher abundances in LC+, with Granulicatella adiacens showing the highest level of abundance change. Functional differences, evident through significant fold changes, included polyamine metabolism and iron siderophore receptors. G. adiacens abundance was correlated with six other bacterial species, namely Enterococcus sp. 130, Streptococcus intermedius, Escherichia coli, S. viridans, Acinetobacter junii, and Streptococcus sp. 6, in LC+ samples only, which could also be related to LC stage. Spontaneous sputum appears to be a viable source of bacterial biomarkers which may have utility as biomarkers for LC status and stage.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.