ArticleCancer2025
The human oral microbiome and risk of colorectal cancer within three prospective cohort studies in the United States.
Article in Cancer, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- The Hidden Link Between Intestinal Helminthiasis, Gut Microbiome Alterations, and Colorectal Cancer Risk: A Systematic Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Pooled it
- Association between ambient air pollution and colorectal cancer risk: The Multiethnic Cohort Study.Environmental research · 2026Article
- Association between diet quality and the oral microbiome in three US cohort studies.Journal of oral microbiology · 2026Article
- Four-Year Longitudinal Epidemiological Study on the Association Between a Multi-Item Saliva Testing System and Oral and Gut Microbiota.Microorganisms · 2025Article
- Animal farming and the oral microbiome in the Agricultural Health Study.Environmental research · 2025Article
- The human oral microbiome and risk of colorectal cancer within three prospective cohort studies in the United States.Cancer · 2025Article
- Gut microbiota, circulating metabolites, and pancreatic cancer risk: a multi-method causal inference study with cross-population validation.Frontiers in microbiology · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
22 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundOral microbes detected in feces have been associated with colorectal cancer (CRC) in cross-sectional studies. This study investigated the prospective associations between the oral microbiome and incident CRC in the Agricultural Health Study (AHS), National Institutes of Health-AARP (NIH-AARP) Diet and Health Study, and Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial.
methodsIndividuals with oral samples collected before incident CRC diagnoses were identified in the AHS (N = 331), NIH-AARP (N = 249), and PLCO (N = 446) and compared with referent subcohorts (N = 3431). The V4 region of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene was sequenced from oral wash DNA, and the data were processed with QIIME2. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for overall CRC and by anatomic subsite (i.e., proximal colon, distal colon, and rectum) were estimated with Cox proportional hazards models with adjustment for potential confounders by cohort and then meta-analyzed.
resultsOverall, no associations were found between microbial characteristics and CRC risk. However, associations were observed with alpha and beta diversity indices and individual genera in analyses stratified by anatomic subsite. For instance, the presence of Olsenella was strongly positively associated with distal colon cancer risk (HR, 2.16; 95% CI, 1.59-2.95), whereas the presence of Prevotella 2 was positively associated with rectal cancer risk (HR, 1.68; 95% CI, 1.14-2.46).
conclusionsThis large study of the prospective association between the oral microbiome and CRC risk showed numerous site-specific associations, including multiple associations with distal colon and rectal cancer risk.
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